Checkmate
by maryl
Summary: Chuck and Blair are married, successful, and in love. They have everything Chuck could ever want, but leave it to Blair to want more. Set after college, slightly AU.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! Welcome to my second Chuck and Blair fic. This one will be slightly different, since it is more AU, set when they are older, and will be a multi-chaptered fic. What to know? What to know? Okay, Blair and Chuck are in their late twenties, they've long since finished college, as driven as they both are they are successful in their careers, and are married. They have everything that Chuck has ever wanted, but leave it to Blair to want more. Here we go…

The elevator doors opened and Blair quickly walked into the apartment calling for Dorota. Slipping off her jacket she handed it off to her, and walked through the foyer as she quickly scanned her phone.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes, Ms. Blair."

"Mr. Bass is running late, which is unexpected, and I usually would put him on suspended privileges, but tonight it gives me time to change." Blair smiled to herself, running a finder down the length of one curl. "Double check dinner, and confirm my appointment with Dr. Khan tomorrow."

Dorota looked at Blair speculatively. She'd know Blair since she was a baby, and could read her every look. Since coming to work as head of the Waldorf/Bass household after they were married, she'd learned a great deal about Mr. Chuck. She had a feeling this night might not go as her charge planned. "Ms. Blair… Maybe you should wait…"

"Wait? Why?" She questioned sharply, cutting off any argument Dorota had with a look.

Running up stairs she quickly changed, having selected tonight's outfit last week. Checking herself in the mirror, she knew this was a look that would bring her husband to his knees.

"This will work." She whispered to her reflection.

Needing to make sure that everything downstairs looked as perfect as she did, she hurried down. Blair moved through the dinning room and carefully adjusted a fork, and a small smile broke across her face as she heard the elevator doors slide open. Chuck had just taken off his coat as she walked slowly into the foyer to greet him. Her eyes sparkled as she felt his slide over her figure, a figure that was not coincidently outlined by the lighting behind her.

"Mrs. Bass…" And with just those words she knew just how much he wanted her, how much he always wanted her.

She didn't respond verbally but slipped into his arms to give him her usual greeting. His lips sliding over hers, his hands moving, his body urging her towards the stairs and their bedroom, rather then her carefully set out dinning room… She pulled away as subtly as she could manage, trying not to appear as breathless as she felt.

"Darling… I have dinner…"

"You are dinner." He drawled, catching her writs and pulling her back.

"I've slaved… Please…" Her doe eyes fluttered at him.

Reluctantly caving to her wishes, he followed her into the candle lit dinning room. The table was set intimately at one end of the long table, their chairs set close together. She held his chair out for him, and he sat, leaning back to watch her as she took her seat next to his.

"Did I miss some inane anniversary… like the first time I caught you in a lie? Forgive me. I would have sent flowers."

"No… You don't miss much, do you?" She said with double meaning, knowing he had caught on to something being up.

"Not when it come to you…" Dorota came in filling his wine glass, and he lifted it taking a drink. "What are you planning?"

"Chuck, do you always have to be thinking I'm planning something?" She asked innocently, ignoring the eye roll Dorota cast her way. "Can't a wife just want to do something nice for her husband?"

"Some might… But you're you."

Her eyes narrowed for a fraction of an instant before the serene expression was back in place. Chuck smiled having caught it. There she was. His Blair. He loved it when her true nature popped out. She was trying hard to hide it tonight, so he relished his glimpse of it.

"Dorota!" She snapped. "Dinner!"

The rest of the meal passed well enough. She let go of her agenda and Chuck didn't try to challenge it while they ate. Once the meal was over the game was back on.

"Chuck. We've known each other forever…" She began over coffee.

Chuck's eyes narrowed, knowing when he was being cornered. "You've bought another Monet…"

"We've been married three years."

"This ought to be good…" He commented, once again slouching back in his chair to enjoy the show.

"Bass industries is at the top of its game, and I've made partner at the firm before I'm even thirty…"

"Why do I feel a noose tightening around my throat?" Chuck drawled leaning forward.

Whatever game she was playing, he was up for the challenge, but he didn't care what the stakes were, he didn't care what he'd have to hand over if he lost. Another month in Dubai, a vineyard in France near her Fathers, Handsome welcomed into their home… whatever it would be worth it, because it was the thrill of how she could still surprise him that really got him going. It was always just when he thought she couldn't surprise him anymore…

"I think it's time we added to our family…." Blair smiled slyly, leaning forward. "

"Please tell me you're talking about Handsome?" Chuck asked, knowing exactly what new addition she wanted, but trying to dodge it, as all the colour washed from his face.

"No… I was thinking something a little less hairy… A tiny little Charles Bartholomew Harold Bass the II…"

"No."

"No?" Blair jumped back, shocked by the finality of his tone.

"No."

"Chuck, don't you think this should be up for discussion…"

"No." He commented, getting up from the table. "Read your pre-nup."

"I didn't think you were serious." She clearly remembered the no procreation clause, but had signed it anyway, knowing she could get around it somehow.

"I'm always serious about contracts. We have one. You've signed it. It's done." Leaning down he placed a kiss on her now clammy cheek. "I have some work to do. I'll be in the study. Please, don't wait up for me."

He walked out of the room, and Blair sat in silence until Dorota's quick footsteps brought her into the room. She carefully approached Blair, like a rabbit approaching a sleeping lion.

"Ms. Blair, should I cancel your appointment for tomorrow?" Already moving to dial her phone.

"No!" She snapped, coming out of her stupor. " You should not cancel my appointment!"

Stalking up from the table she began to pace the room, muttering to herself. "He always has to make everything so difficult…"

Freezing, she turned, her eyes now deadly calm, so different from the rage of a moment ago. She fixed them now on Dorota. "Time for plan B."

"Oh, boy."

TaHDaH!! Now, as I said, this is my second Chuck and Blair fic, and here is the sad thing. The first one got decent readership, BUT three reviews, and two of them were friends of mine. How sad. Anyhoo, I will personally thank Maryam, Gerty, and (LHDS), for taking the time to review. If it's quality, not quantity that matters, you three left me the best. Thanks!

PS-Is it March 16th yet?


	2. Chapter 2

Holy crap!! Thank you all so much for the response to my first chapter of Checkmate! Now, this is only my second GG fic, and I've come to a conclusion… You guys rock as readers! Thank you so much for all your reviews! However, I'm sensing a lack of trust in some of our reader/writer relationships… I was reading through the reviews and I had to laugh when I began to notice a pattern of "good start", "nice job so far", "looks promising" etc. You all sound like me on a first date. It makes me wonder if you've been burned before? I promise, I try not to suck. I have follow through. Trust me! This is going to be so good! And, yes, maybe I've stolen those lines from ex-boyfriends, but I really mean them. I hope this second chapter lives up to the promise of the first. Okay, here we go, chapter two…

Blair stared at the ceiling, reciting the history of the French Revolution in her head in order to avoid the complete indignity of her current situation, which was irritating her as it always did. This was the 21st century, there'd been a man on the moon, a vaccine for polio, Kate Winslet had won an Oscar, and yet here Blair was.

"Okay, that's it. You can sit up now."

With a sigh of distaste Blair quickly moved into a more civilized position, and crossed her legs at the ankle, her knees firmly clenched together. Not making eye contact with the doctor, she carefully smoothed her silk robe over her knees, having brought it with her to shun the donning of that wretched paper one. Even still, it was hard to regain her usual composure with a man who'd just seen her in stirrups.

"You can wait for me in your office." Blair informed him with a dismissive air.

Blair was known for having nerves of steel. It was one of the many reasons she'd come as far as she had, but as she quietly dressed in the examination room, something in her stomach churned. She was gambling everything on how well she knew her husband. If she could just outmaneuver him, he would come around. Of course he would come around. He'd been in her life forever, and she didn't see that stopping now. As she checked her appearance in the mirror behind the door, her mind drifted back.

**Flashback.**

_The air was heavy with the dampness of early spring. Blair hated spring. Everything in the city that had been kept frozen by winter had melted and released its odor all at once. It was disgusting. Pulling her coat tighter against her body, she waited on the steps of the school, tapping the spoke of her umbrella with impatience. Where was he? Scrolling through her phone, she scanned her messages. Nothing. _

_Blair was just about to call him again, when a door at the top of the stairs crashed open and Chuck Bass stumbled out. His clothes were askew, and he repeatedly glanced behind him as he hurried down the stairs. Spotting her from the landing above, he slowed his pace, and walked past her several steps, adjusting his clothing as he went, finally stopping and looking her in the eye._

"_Waldorf." He greeted his best friend's girlfriend. "You do know that you have to go home? Don't worry. Your kingdom will still be here tomorrow, waiting for you to terrori—"_

_He cut of with a sly smile at the way her eyes flared at him. He could never figure out why some people, her boyfriend included, classed Blair as a "good girl". Chuck recognized a kindred spirit when he saw one._

"… _reign again." He finished, a smile pulling at the side of his mouth._

_She'd achieved Queen in her freshman year, which was unheard of in the past. But that was the past and she was Blair Waldorf. No one had ever wanted it more, and no one had ever been prepared to do what it had taken to get it at such a young age. The former Queen had had to transfer to a public school in Idaho once Blair had finished with her. And now here she was, still on top, with no upstarts on the horizon ready to make a play for her crown. The Jr. School held a prospect, but Blair would handle her when she arrived. Jenny Humphrey? Blair wasn't about to quake in her Manolos over a girl named Jenny. Blair had the grades, the looks, the name and the power, and she had Nathaniel Archibald. She had everything she wanted. She had the perfect picture._

"_I'm waiting for Nate." She commented ignoring the way Chuck kept looking at her regardless of the fact she'd turned her attention to her phone._

"_Well, you'll be waiting a long time. He left after lunch."_

"_What?" She snapped, dropping her phone in her lap. "He was supposed to come with me to Bergdorf's so I could approve his shoes for the lower classman Spring Formal!"_

_Chuck chuckled at the speed of her words and their sharp pitch. "Sorry. His mother picked him up… I think they're paying a mandatory social call on her parents…"_

"_I can't believe he didn't call me." She commented with impatience. Blair began scrolling through her phone again, eager to make new plans for the afternoon. She couldn't do "nothing". She could never just do nothing. _

"_Hmm. Blood trumps brunettes… blondes however…" Chuck mused smoothly, before extending his hand. "Care for a ride?"_

_With a sigh of resignation Blair took his hand and let him help her to her feet. As she took a step to follow her him, her hand still in his, the world tilted around her, and her knees buckled. Chuck's arms quickly came around her to steady her._

"_Are you alright?" He asked sincerely his brow furrowing. _

_Chuck couldn't help but notice how slight she felt in his arms, and he realized the strict architecture of her clothes hid how thin her body actually was underneath them. Most girls dressed to look thinner, but he'd always known Blair dressed for her role. Now he thought that maybe her clothing choices aided her in other ways as well. _

"_I'm fine." Blair murmured, surprised that Chuck had sounded like he was actually concerned. Pulling out of his arms, but allowing him to keep a hold of her elbow she began to lead him out of the courtyard to his waiting limo._

_Settled in the back as the car pulled away from the curb, she could feel him still looking at her and she changed the subject. _

"_So?" She questioned, her hand reaching out and straightening his scarf. "Who were you on the run from? You're practically disheveled. How very un-you."_

"_I was accosted in the bathroom."_

_She raised a brow._

"_Against my will." He clarified._

"_Really…" She drawled her curiosity piqued. "Anyone I know?"_

"_Georgina." Chuck sneered, his lip curling._

_Blair's nose crinkled in distaste. If anything Georgina Sparks was the exact opposite of Blair Waldorf. Where Blair craved perfection and control, Georgina sought excitement and chaos. Other then the fact that they grew up in the same circles and went to the same school, the only overlap in their lives was their shared friendship with Serena. Even still, Blair saw no reason to extend herself in any way towards Georgina, and she was surprised Chuck had any use for her… until she thought of Chuck's favourite form of use._

"_So you and Georgina…"_

"_It was years ago at what had been a rather dull party. There was a first that occurred… for one of us that is. The bitch has been stalking me ever since."_

"_You lost your virginity to Georgina Sparks?" Chuck didn't reply but merely smiled looking out the window again, as Blair watched him closely. "I take it you made an impression…"_

"_What can I say? My natural talent was evident from the start." His head rolled on the seat to look at her._

"_You're disgusting."_

_  
"And yet, you're intrigued." He half teased. _

_Blair was just about to comment, but broke off as she felt her heart flutter in her chest. Her head suddenly swam, the car around her began to spin, and she slumped back in her seat, her body going limp, as the world got blurry around the edges._

_Chuck, who had always been astute, but even more so it seemed when it came to Blair, quickly hovered over her._

"_What's wrong?" He asked, his hand already reaching for the speaker to signal the driver to change their destination._

"_Nothing." Blair managed, as she reached for his wrist to stop him._

_Her hands were weak, and he let her pull his arm down till his hand rested against her stomach. Her hands remained lightly on his arm._

"_Sure, and I'm planning on joining the Priesthood." He commented, lifting his hand from her to gently push the damp hair off of her cheek. "What's wrong with you?"_

_Chuck had a feeling he already knew. His father dated models, and so he recognized some signs that he couldn't believe he was seeing in Blair. As he moved away to the bar to pour her some orange juice, he thought that he shouldn't be surprised. Blair was the epitome of a Type A, and this type of behaviour was textbook. _

_As she took the juice he handed her, he could see the desperation in her eyes. This was Blair's secret, and now Chuck knew it. Chuck knowing any of your secrets was reason alone to panic._

_Any conversation was cut short by the limo pulling up outside Blair's building, and for a second she looked surprised to see her best friend and her brother standing on the curb. On a hunch Blair guessed that Serena's mother had fled to Zurich, so the Van der Woodsen siblings would be staying at the Waldorf's till she returned._

_Blair opened the door and quickly alighted from the limo, but Chuck caught her hand before she could move away._

"_Blair…"_

_Glancing back she saw Serena and Eric looking curiously at them, and she rushed out in agitation. "It was nothing. I just miscalculated today… Please, don't say anything to them…"_

_Chuck looked at the way her eyes implored him, and he caved this once. "All right."_

_Her face was flooded with relief, but she was brought up short as he continued. "… But Blair… whatever you're doing to yourself… you're worth more than that."_

**End of Flashback**

Blair shut her eyes for a moment, her hand on the knob of the doctor's adjoining office door. Chuck would forgive her for this, but even as she told herself that, she realized she wasn't so sure. Shaking her head she yanked the door open.

"So?"

Later that day, Serena walked into the waiting area of Blair's office and nearly broke her ankle stepping on a stuffy. Righting herself she looked around and wondered if she was in the right place. Glancing at Blair's assistant who was trying to console a weeping woman and her child, Serena walked into Blair's office.

"B, what's your emergency?" Serena asked, looking around a room crowed with women and babies. It took her only a moment to spot her friend at the centre of the action.

"Numbers 12, 8, 3, and 7 can go." Blair said shortly, as her pen made checkmarks down a clipboard. Her eyes narrowed on a woman holding a curly haired blonde baby in the corner. "Number 4, what are you still doing here? You were dismissed in the first round. I want him to think of fatherhood, not question humanity."

Serena moved out of the way as the woman hurried past her with her baby, her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm scared to ask." Serena commented, rolling her eyes as she came to give Blair a quick hug in greeting, before standing next to her friend to peer at the clipboard.

"2, 6, and 10." Blair commanded with a wave of her pen.

Three women quickly fell into line in front of Blair and Serena, their babies held before them for inspection.

"Well? What do you think?" Blair asked, not looking at Serena, but carefully inspecting the rolls of a baby's ankle. She poked it with the end of her pen.

"What do I think of what?" Serena asked, now totally lost.

"The babies! These are my top three. Each is visually attractive, clean and smell good. They need wardrobe, but Dorota is working on that. I'm leaning towards 2, because of the dimple, but 10 almost has that certain Bass look to it." She studied 10 now, her pen resting at her lip.

"Oh, god. Blair, are you buying a baby?" Serena cringed, hoping against hope that this wasn't illegal.

"I'm not buying one of these." Blair snapped, as if the idea was abhorrent to her. "They may fit the bill, but none of them have the Waldorf/Bass genes I really want. They're like a prop… a little bait to lure Chuck into fatherhood. Once he sees what babies are like, and I explain how superior our baby will be, he'll get with the program and put an heir in me."

Serena smiled, ignoring the situation she'd just walked into, because she'd long since given up being surprised by anything her best friend did. Serena focused on her friend.

"Wow. A Bass/Waldorf baby… I don't know, B? Do you think the world is ready for that?" Serena smiled, knowing that motherhood was a role her driven friend would excel at, as she did with almost everything.

"Who cares about the world? I just need to prepare Chuck." Blair's lip curled as a stream of drool came out of 10.

Both the women looked at the babies.

"6?" Serena offered.

Blair rolled her eyes. "Number 2, a car will pick you up at 4pm. Be ready."

TaHDah! Okay, I actually wrote this before I watched an episode of How I Met Your Mother, but now it's all I see in my head. Another thing the OTH readers can tell you… I have long and somewhat random Author's Notes. Oh and just so you know, I've only ever used a flashback once before now. I was going to make the one I used here into a one shot or the beginning of a series of one shots, but I decided to put it here. I love a timeline. It kills me that OTH doesn't have one, but I figured out a GG one for the flashback. In season one they're juniors, and the Thanksgiving flashback is them when they're sophomores and Blair's parents comment on her condition being under control for months, so the flashback is set in the late spring of their freshman year. Make sense? No? Humour me.

PS-I read this puppy three times looking for typos and such. Forgive me if I missed any!


	3. Chapter 3

Howdy! Okay, I had a whole witty author's note written, but then I kept not finishing the chapter and it got more and more out of date… so here is this one… It will be as time neutral as I can make it… Oh, and just to be clear, I think this chapter is total crap, but it's set up for the next. Please bear with me! Here we go…

Chuck glanced down with distain at the creature at the end of the leash he held. Handsome. Chuck had never liked animals, he had never pretended to like animals, and this animal in particular had been a thorn in his side for years ever since Blair had insisted Handsome be a groomsmen at their wedding. Chuck had agreed in exchanged for certain honeymoon promises from her… He had thought he had come out on top from that arrangement until the end of the ceremony when he had leaned in to kiss his bride and Handsome had taken a chunk out of his calf. By the time their plane had landed in Istanbul, Handsome had been in a crate to France. He'd vowed the mongrel would never darken his door again… now he hoped it would serve to placate his wife.

"You lift one leg near my closet and you earn yourself a one way trip to Korea Town." Chuck threatened, and the bog merely panted in response.

The elevator doors slid open and he walked out, but had to leap forward to stop the door from shutting with Handsome still on the inside. Pressing his back to the door, he held it open, signaling Handsome to come in with a condescending wave.

"Mr. Handsome!" Dorota said as she crossed the hallway to take Chuck's coat. "Mr. Handsome?"

"For future reference… I'd prefer it if you greet me before the canine… I do pay your salary after all…"

Dorota rolled her eyes, not commenting that it was Mrs. Blair who paid her wages like she had since she was fourteen, and instead of listening to her parents when they said she was too old for a caregiver and were letting Dorota go, had turned around and hired Dorota herself paying her out of the interest from her trust fund. She'd been all Blair's ever since. Suddenly Dorota looked at Chuck with suspicion in her eyes. "Mr. Chuck… You leave Mrs. Blair?"

"What?" Chuck looked at her incredulously.

"You run away like a little boy?" She asked with derision.

"Is this where I'm supposed to pretend like I know what you're talking about out of respect for the fact that if it came down to it, my wife would most likely pick you over me if we were standing in front of a firing squad?" Chuck drawled.

Dorota thought that out of the two of them he was probably the one who would have deserved it, but she kept that to herself.

"You say 'Mr. Handsome comes into house, you go out'." Dorota reminded him.

"Perhaps I spoke in haste…" He looked down at the dog again, and tried not to picture the fur it would leave on his suits or how Handsome's favourite place to sleep was also Chuck's; right next to Blair. Hence the reason they had issues. "If Blair wants to hear the pitter patter of little feet, who am I to keep them from her…"

"You think Mrs. Blair give up baby for dog?"

"Well, you needn't say it like that." He tossed out, angry at the thought that Dorota was right, and that Handsome's return might not put the baby situation to rest.

Let off his leash Handsome trotted into the living room and Chuck smiled hearing Blair's excitement.

"Handsome!"

Walking into the room the first thing Chuck saw was Blair with Handsome cuddled tight in her arms, his head against her chest, and Chuck would have bet his last billion that the dog was gloating.

"What's this?" She asked with happy eyes.

It was then Chuck scanned the rest of the room. "I could ask you the same thing."

Like a wave had washed over it, a look of consternation flittered across her face and was gone, replaced by the smile that always had him on edge. It seemed Blair had some tricks of her own up her sleeve for tonight.

Putting down Handsome, Blair walked over to Chuck and took his arm. "Darling, did you forget? My friend Paige from college and her husband Troy were coming into town, and I invited them for dinner. You know how much I hate to lose touch with old friends…"

More like old minions. Chuck knew Blair kept a Rolodex in her head of everyone she ever met, everyone who owed her a favour, and especially everyone who she had dirt on. She knew where more bodies were buried on the Upper East Side then anyone else, with the possible exception of Chuck himself. Chuck looked over at the couple sitting on his couch looking uncomfortable.

"Funny… I can't seem to remember meeting Sage. I thought I knew everything about you…"

"Paige." Blair corrected, before smiling again. "And no one can know everything…"

"Maybe it would be a good time to remind you about how well you know me… You might recall how I don't respond well to manipulation."

"Hm!" Blair scoffed. "Show's what you know." Her voice dropped to a seductive purr. "Are you trying to tell me that you don't like it when I… Manipulate you?"

Just then a cry broke out from the side of the room. Chuck's head snapped around. "What is that?"

"A floppy eared bunny named Chester." She mocked. "It's their precious baby."

"What is it doing here?"

"Well, they couldn't very well leave 'it' in a hotel room alone, now could they?"

Just then, Dorota came in and Blair seized the opportunity to move the night along. "Dinner! Dorota will watch the baby while we eat."

Dinner passed with Chuck not saying a word, merely staring at his wife and picturing the various methods of torture he could inflict on her that would even come close to how painful this meal was for him. The couple would not stop talking about their son, and Chuck was tuning in and out because of that.

"… yeah, so being a dad is great! He's my little buddy! He's—"

Blair coughed slightly into her napkin and managed an almost indiscernible shake of her head at Troy.

"I mean… Passing on the family name… Knowing that my legacy is assured…" Troy stammered trying to please his hostess.

Blair's eyebrows shut up in approval for a fraction of an instant, before her head swung towards Chuck, cocking to the side as she gave him cat with a canary smile. She also knew that Dorota was keeping the baby entertained directly in Chuck's eye line. Perfect.

"Oh, you are so right, Troy. Legacies are so important—" Blair began.

"I'm done." Chuck said, placing his napkin on the table.

"But we haven't even had dessert!" Blair said, trying to keep Chuck from making a break for it.

"I know. And like I said, I'm done." He emphasized pointedly.

Chuck walked over to her and placed a kiss on her frozen cheek before walking out of the room. Minutes passed and without moving she addressed them. "You can go. Dorota will pay you on the way out."

Leaving the table she walked down the hall to her office, seeing light from under the one adjacent to hers, she knew where Chuck was, and so following his lead she entered hers and shut the door. Hours later she sat at her desk going over going over court documents, when she heard the soft click of her door opening. She didn't look up, and he came and perched on her desk, a glass of Scotch in his hand.

"Blair…"

"Did you see that baby tonight?" She finally looked up at him.

Chuck's lip curled in disdain.

"Exactly. That child was disgusting. I saw it lick the dog at one point… and before I forget we need to make sure it's up on its shots."

"The dog?"

"No the child. Who knows where it's been? My point is that that child, much like many children, is pedestrian, dull and in many ways utterly unremarkable."

"I'm glad you've come around to my way of thinking…" Chuck smiled leaning in to kiss the side of her neck.

"Not so fast. What I'm trying to say to you is that our child wouldn't be." She smiled, running her hand up his leg. "Imagine what our child will be like…"

Chuck pulled away from her, rapidly growing tense, and poured the last of his drink down his throat, standing and turning away from her. She followed him and pressed her body to his back, and ran her hands up it to his shoulders.

"… Dark hair… Dark eyes. …Our two intellects, genes and style, blended into one perfect creature… Just picture it…"

"I said no." He said forcefully, moving away from her.

"Why are you being like this?" Her voice rose with emotion.

"Why are you pretending we haven't already had this discussion?" His going up as well as his frustration grew with this pointless argument.

Both of them just looked at each other, battle lines drawn, neither conceding an inch.

"I'm going to bed. I have meetings all day tomorrow, as do you." He said not moving, not taking his eyes from hers.

She knew what he was implying, that they were both incredibly busy, and that their free time was best used on each other. She wouldn't answer, and he didn't expect her to. He left and she was alone.

Minutes passed in silence before Blair moved to window, looking out at nothing. She didn't even notice Dorota coming into the room and looking worriedly at her mistress's stiff back. Her eavesdropping had told her things had not gone the way Blair had planned.

"Mrs. Blair?" She asked softly, but got no response so she continued trying to reach her. "Sometimes you cannot change the direction of the wind."

Dorota was just about to leave the room having not gotten a response, when Blair spoke.

"Everything works out the way it's supposed to." Blair insisted.

"You mean the way you want it to." Dorota said, trying without success to refrain from rolling her eyes.

"That too. This was meant to be. You'll see."

Once Dorota was gone, Blair headed up to their room, and ignored Chuck sprawled on the bed as she headed into her bathroom. She shut the door. Looking at her reflection, she couldn't believe how withdrawn she looked. She was betting everything on this. She filled a glass with water from the decanter, and took her pills out from the drawer like she did every night and took one out. Tonight however, she looked at the pill and dropped it down the drain.

BlahBLAH!! Okay, that was the end of the chapter. Like I said this was the hardest chapter I've had to write in a while, and I'm not happy with it. It even ruined my popsicle (don't ask, but trust me it did). This chapter is however dedicated to the lovely Maryam for her birthday! Happy Birthday Maryam! Enjoy Crapmate!


	4. Chapter 4

Howdy, everybody!! I am home in Toronto! Yahoo! I am trying to get this chapter out because I start work on Monday, and after having been a happily unemployed student for the past eight months… it might kill me. I may come home cursing my life, by job, and children everywhere, before crashing on my bed and sleeping till I have to get up and do the whole thing over again the next day. This is me saying… that I will TRY to keep up on my chapters… but… I may be dead, and then you all should probably expect a little slow down in chapters. You can't see me right now, but I'm smiling VERY nicely at my screen, hoping you'll all be understanding… Here's a chapter right now! See! Be happy! Here we go…

Blair lay in bed as still as stone. Why was he still here? Every evening she'd check Chuck's schedule for the next day, if he had a late start, she'd get up before him, dress and head to her office immediately so she could throw up in peace, if he had an early start she'd wait him out and be able to give into morning sickness in the privacy of her own bathroom. Her system was working perfectly. But was he co-operating today? Of course not. Today when she was feeling like Lohan, the man was pressed into her back and shoving his face in her neck.

Blair moaned as nausea churned through her, and part of her hoped Chuck took it as a sign of passion, while the other part figured if she threw up on him he'd move away. No such luck on the latter. She felt his hand play with the edge of her silk sleeping mask, and she swatted it away, knowing that if he lifted it and saw her eyes screwed shut, he'd know something was up.

"Don't you have a meeting with a new property manager?" Blair asked, trying to sound only mildly curious.

"I'll be late… We've been missing each other for days…" He murmured, punctuating it with a kiss to her nape. "Weeks even…"

"Mmmmm…" Blair managed, trying not to cringe away from him. "You may be able to be late… You're the last Bass standing… But some of us are only partners… It's 7:12am. I have to get up in three minutes."

Chuck raised an eyebrow and leaned over her to look at her bedside clock, and sure enough she had hit the time dead on. Waving his hand in front of her masked face, he shrugged, before heading back to her neck.

"I'll buy your firm… Then I can have the pleasure of sexually harassing you." He teased into her skin.

He kept touching her. If he kissed her neck one more time she was going to throw up. Her alarm clock chiming had her sitting bolt upright, jumping out of bed, and streaking for her bathroom. Slamming the door shut she quickly turned on the shower full blast and barely made it to the toilet before her stomach emptied out.

Done for the moment, Blair stood and poured water into a glass to rinse her mouth. It had surprised her how easy it had been. She'd thought it would have taken months to get pregnant, but she'd stopped taking the pill and within days she was feeling off, and upon taking her first pregnancy test it had lit up positive. She remembered looking at the stick as she sat in her private bathroom at her office, feeling some trepidation that it had happened so quickly, and knowing that she couldn't change her mind. There was no turning back now. All she had to do now was break the news to Chuck, but she had to find the right moment… Not an easy task given who they were, so, now here she was, rapidly moving through her first trimester, and Chuck was still none the wiser.

Turning to the side she studied her figure, and sighed, satisfied that there was still no sign of it.

"You don't need to inspect. I'll do it for you. You're beautiful."

Startled by his voice, Blair jumped, the water glass nearly falling from her hand. Spinning around she saw him lounging against the door jam, having opened it quietly.

"GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!" Blair practically screeched.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked, truly baffled by her behaviour this morning. "I didn't think I'd have to have you committed till you were heading towards your fortieth birthday. Was I off by a decade?"

"First, I told you, I am never turning forty so why you keep bringing it up is really beyond me. Second, Chuck, marriage requires boundaries." Her finger flicked out, pointing. "That bathroom door is one of them!"

"Are you alright?" And at the moment the question seemed to span not only this instance, but in general.

"I'm fine." Blair said firmly. "But I'll be better when I can have my bathroom back alone in peace."

Chuck looked at her and her cold expression for a minute before backing out of the room, and pulling the door shut behind him. He stood there staring at the door. Something was definitely up with her. Rubbing his lip, he thought about what he'd heard before going into her private sanctuary. Chuck had heard her be ill, knew she'd been working crazy hours pushing herself, and he couldn't help but wonder if her condition was back.

Flashback.

_He'd stood in the doorway of her room in the clinic, watching her as she flipped through a Italian Vogue, her brow furrowed. Her lip curled in disdain as she looked with contempt at a designer's newest line. He smiled as she tossed the magazine away and flopped back on the bed, her hair splaying out around her, dark against the white linens, even darker as they framed her paler than usual face. She looked like Snow White._

"_I wish I had an apple."_

_Her had snapped over and she looked at him. _

"_Bass." She greeted noncommittally, her guard up at him seeing her in this place._

"_Waldorf." He came forward, placing the peonies he'd brought on a table, before coming to sit on the chair by her bed._

_She sat up a little, straightening the sheets over her lap. Both of them not talking, but thinking about the elephant in the room. After her parents had left for a week in Banff, she'd binged on the leftovers from her mother's last party, then not eaten for three days. Serena had found her on the floor of her closet. Unconscious, Blair had been unable to tell her that she was fine, and not to tell anyone. Serena had yelled for help. Dorota had called an ambulance. And Blair's parents. Now, here she was, in the specialized clinic they'd put her in, missing freshman formal, having only been allowed a brief visit from Serena and Nate, also banned from her phone and unable to know what was happening or who was talking. Finally she had to know._

"_Gossip Girl or Nate?" She asked firmly, wanting to know how he'd know she was here. Was it just that her boyfriend blabbed everything to his best friend, or was humiliation global._

"_Nate." He replied. "We've kept it off Gossip Girl."_

_When she raised an eyebrow as to how they'd pulled that one off, Chuck had smiled, and merely commented. "Serena made planes with Georgina. I think she's trying to pull the heat as to where you disappeared to off, and onto what she's doing at a club in the meatpacking district."_

_Blair nodded, relieved at having this kept off the blogs. They sat unspeaking. It wasn't visiting hours, and she didn't have to ask how he'd gotten in there. Money bought you entrance anywhere. He didn't have to ask her why she did it. He knew her need for control._

"_You should go."_

"_If you need anything…" He said to his friend._

"_I'll be sure who not to ask." She snapped, shutting him out, and looking out the window_.

End Of Flashback.

He wouldn't let her go down that route. He remembered all to clearly how small she'd looked in that hospital bed; how hurt. She hadn't been his back then, but she was now, and he wouldn't let her hurt herself like that again. He needed her too much.

Another thought hit him, but he threw it away. She wouldn't do that. She wouldn't cross that line, he told himself… but still it ate at him as he punched the elevator button and headed to work.

That night Blair sat in the lounge in their bedroom staring into the flames. She turned pushed her antique diamond engagement ring round and round her finger, and remembered the night Chuck had given it to her, in the back of his limo on the day before her birthday. Full circle, that's what he'd said; he'd said they'd come full circle. Blair knew she was playing a risky game, and she may have pushed him too far this time, but she knew they could do this.

Hearing him come in she didn't turn, and he came and sat at her feet on the lounge. He sat silently, just looking at her. She couldn't put if off any longer.

"I'm pregnant." She said simply, ripping the bandage off, and hoping it didn't take half the wound with it.

He looked at her, frozen in the last minute before she spoke. Neither moved. Time ticked on.

Finally, he got up with purpose and moved to the wet bar in the corner, pouring himself a scotch, shooting it back, and then pouring himself another, before moving to the window to stare at the Upper East Side skyline, but see nothing.

Blair watched him from the lounge, taking in the grip of his fingers on the cut glass, and the unyielding lines of his back. Finally she went to him and pressed herself against that cold back, running her hands up and onto his shoulders.

"Chuck…" She whispered beseechingly.

He didn't answer and she rested her forehead gently against him, willing him to understand, not speaking because she knew they were beyond that at the moment.

Just when she thought they would stand like that forever, he choked back the last of his drink, hurling the glass against the wall as he spun towards her, their eyes meeting as the crystal shattered. She took a step back momentarily frightened by what she saw in his eyes, but then he grabbed her by her arms, pulling her tight to him as his mouth claimed hers. She didn't resist. She didn't want to.

Stretching as her body came awake the next morning, she reached for Chuck, glad that for the first time if her morning sickness kicked in she didn't have to hide it from him, but her fingers didn't find him, and instead the felt the cool sheets, and then the crispness of paper. Sitting up with a start, she shoved the mask off her face and snatched up the papers, scanning them quickly.

"NO!!"

Dorota paced the kitchen uneasily. Mr. Chuck had left so early this morning that she wouldn't have even know he was gone if it wasn't for the chime of the elevator waking her. She was like Pavlov with that chime. She could never sleep through it. Dorota had gotten up and checked to see if she was needed in the foyer, but it was empty and she'd gone back to bed. She should have gone back to sleep, but something didn't feel right. Dorota had tried to shrug it off, but it had nagged at her, keeping her awake until her alarm went off at 6am as usual. She gotten up, dressed, and made up Mrs. Blair's standard breakfast of late, of dry toast and weak tea. Even as she did it, she couldn't shake the feeling. Finally taking the prepared tray, she headed up the stairs. She place the tray on the side table, before slowly opening the door, and for a second she was surprised to find the lights in the room already on, and then she saw her Blair. She sat still as a statue in the centre of the bed, and she looked at nothing.

"Mrs. Blair?" Dorota asked tentatively.

Blair turned her head and Dorota couldn't help but gasp. When her father had moved with Ramon to Paris Blair had looked devastated. As she looked at Dorota now… She looked ravaged. The papers in Blair's hands fell from her fingers, and she opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. Shaking her head slightly she finally managed to address Dorota, and meet her eyes, shock hovering on the edges of hers.

"He's divorcing me."

TaHDaH! There you go! I have a confession…I kind of like jealous Nate. The boy doesn't have a shot in hell, but I like him jealous over Blair. It's probably because I thought he treated her like crap in the first season; that he used her for her mother's influence, and basically that he didn't want her till she was gone. Everyone who just thought in their heads that the same could be said about our Chuck, you bite your tongues! Chuck has issues, and it just takes him a little longer to get to the punch line… the punch line being that it's CB all the way.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello! Well, well, well… here we are at the end of season two. I found this a tough chapter to write what with the Chair goodness of the prom episode. How? How do you not love Chuck Bass and his love for Blair Waldorf? Who voted for her? I did. About a hundred and fifty times. OMG! That was a beautiful thing. You know it's love when it involves election fraud. It did, however, make it difficult to write destructive Chair. Anyhoo, here we go…

"This can't be happening."

Sitting in that bed, their bed, the divorce papers falling from her fingers, her body rebelled and she ran to the bathroom to be sick. She was barely aware of Dorota following her and gently holding back her hair or stroking her back. Finished she fell back, resting against Dorota's knees.

"I'm pregnant." She whispered to Dorota, not even caring that the other woman just rolled her eyes as if she expected as much. As if she knew what Blair had been up to. As if she didn't know that this was yet another scheme that would come back and bite her employer on the ass.

Blair let Dorota help her up, support her as she rinsed out her mouth, and then help her back to bed.

"I get your breakfast." Dorota said, heading into the hallway to retrieve the tray.

Blair ignored her, grabbing her phone and hitting the first speed dial. Not surprisingly it went to voicemail.

"Chuck…" Taking a deep breath, she tried to chase out the hint of desperation in her voice and muster some command to it. "We need to talk. Call me back."

That had been her first message. They had gone downhill from there.

After the initial shock of the divorce papers, annoyance followed by anger that led to rage had taken over as Chuck continued to dodge her calls throughout the day. She'd gone to work, against Dorota's advice, but had been distracted the whole day. Giving up, she'd left early, only to be greeted by an army of valets moving his things out of their apartment. She hadn't even been given a chance to take a pair of scissors to his favourite suits.

Ignoring the worried glances of Dorota, who kept forcing food and tea into her, Blair somehow made it through her first night in a home that was now empty of all of her husband's belongings. The world should look out, Dorota thought as she helped Blair dress the next morning. When Blair got on the elevator that morning, she had an agenda and she was going to carry it out. The only thing on it? Find her husband.

She knew where her first stop was.

Chuck's assistant sat at his desk, a sheen of nervous sweat beading his brow. He heard the soft ping of the elevator chime, the sharp clack of her heels that trumpeted her arrival, and a part of his anatomy leapt up into his body for protection as she came through the door. His employer had warned him she would probably be on the warpath, and he was beginning to think that the hefty bonus he'd been promised wasn't going to cut it… especially if he wasn't alive to spend it.

"Mrs.… Ms… Mrs. Bass… Waldorf…" He stammered as she approached his desk.

She stopped in front of his desk, looking down on him as if he were a hair she'd just found in her crepe. Her gaze narrowed and he could have sworn something inside him curled up and died. The woman was scary.

"Where is he?"

"Not… here?" He managed, wishing there was a panic button under his desk. "Can I take a message?"

"Now that you mention it…" Blair said.

Pulling out the divorce papers she dropped them on the floor, and wasting no time she began jumping on them, turning in circles, her pumps cutting into them and turning them to pulp as she screeched her frustration. Finally stopping, she was breathless as she straightened her hair and clothes. Composed again, she looked down at him.

"Please see that my husband gets these."

With that she turned and walked out of the office, only causing one secretary to leap out of the way and land in a ficus.

Her next stop was downtown to the deputy mayor's office, the office of Nathanial Archibald.

Walking in unannounced she looked Nate up and down where he sat behind his desk addressing his staff, and for a moment thought about how simple her life would be if she'd loved Nathaniel Archibald. He'd be the type of man who would want to father his wife's children, the man who'd want to be a father without having to be manipulated into it. Yes, her life would have been soft, simple, and in the end… completely boring.

Sending his staff out of the room, he came around his desk and kissed her cheek, offering her a seat in a leather captain's chair in front of his desk, before perching on the end and crossing his arms over his chest.

"You had to know he'd spook." Shaking his head at her, with an indulgent smile. "He's Chuck Bass."

"He just needed some coaching…"

"Oh, you coached him alright… right out of town." He chuckled.

Blair's eyes narrowed at his words and Nate stopped laughing.

Chuck exited his hotel, and scanned the street, spotting his limo approaching he checked his watch. His things were already on his jet and he'd be in Damascus by tomorrow. Chuck had shut down, and he knew the one goal he had was to get out of the city before his wife found him. Parker came around and opened the door for him, and Chuck slid in, feeling more at ease with his escape route intact.

"Hello, Chuck."

Chuck cast a glance at Parker as he shut the door, but then rolled his gaze towards his wife… his soon-to-be ex-wife who was seated in his limo, fixing him with her most icy of looks.

"Blair." He greeted with a travesty of a smile. "You're looking lovely this morning. Practically glowing."

"It's the rage, it tends to bring out my natural blush. Care to tell me where you think you're off to? Buying congratulatory cigars perhaps?" She said, both mocking him and herself.

"Hmm? Interesting. Now just what would I have to be celebrating? My shackle or my freedom?"

"What are you doing?" She demanded.

"The question is, my love, what did you do?" He said, his usually languid voice tightening with a snap.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Blair said, knowing exactly what he was talking about. She straightened her skirt and got ready to lie her way out of this situation. "I'm pregnant, and like it or not, you, Bass, had a great deal to so with it."

Chuck leaned in, and she leaned back at the steel behind his eyes. "Did I? Did I really?"

"Need I remind you I keep a journal? I could provide you with times… dates… positions…" She taunted.

"Ahh… So true, my love… You are nothing if not meticulous… Which is why it seems so odd to me that you would fall pregnant."

"Accidents happen. Look at Gable and Young." She countered.

"So… you didn't plan this… accident?" He questioned needlessly with a raised brow.

"Of course not. Who do you think I am?" She shot back innocently.

"I know exactly who you are." They both paused in momentary truce, knowing that was true. The truce ended with his next words. "If our marriage means so much to you, and this was, as you claim, an accident… then end it."

"What?" Blair said, in shock.

"End it. The pregnancy. End it and we go back to what we were, what we've always been. Chuck and Blair."

For a moment Blair was too horrified to speak. He didn't mean it. He couldn't mean it? Her mouth opened but no words came out. Chuck watched her, knowing this was it. Neither spoke as they pulled up at the helipad that he would take off from and be carried to the airport. Chuck's hand when to the door and he paused as Blair grabbed his sleeve.

"If you get on that helicopter, Chuck, it's over!" She threatened recklessly.

Pulling his arm away, he looked her up and down, and said with an air of distaste. "It's already over."

Months later, sitting at the head of the table a judge looked at the two lawyers who were glaring antagonistically at each other from across the table. Neither of their clients was present, but it didn't seem to stop their councils from carrying on the grudge match, the grudge match that had been slung about in the press and on the gossip blogs for weeks. The judge had to admit that he too had followed along the tales of the billionaire husband who had fled the country and his pregnant wife, the wife who had been seen around town with her ex-beau the dashing deputy mayor, the husband seen on the beach with twin super models after putting their apartment on the market… while she was still very much in residence, and the wife who had burned down their summer home in the Hamptons.

Scanning the papers again, he looked to the lawyers. "So, this is it? He supplies the agreed upon alimony as per the prenuptial agreement, and she doesn't contests provided he relinquishes all legal and physical claims to her child?"

The lawyers nodded, not taking their eyes off each other.

The judge had been doing this a long time, and even with all that had been going on between this couple… This passion only meant one thing.

"This is over." He predicted as he signed the papers and shut the file.

TahDAH!!! Okay, there is your new chapter, coming to you the day of (if you're Canadian) or the day before the season two finale! For everyone who was hoping the divorce wouldn't go through… it did. Don't hate me. I can promise you this… the story isn't over.

PS-I made an OLD Hollywood reference in this chapter. Points to whoever can tell me the story! Googling is cheating.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello! I hope you all are doing well with the lack of Gossip Girl. Now… All the people who pick up on my typos and it drives them crazy, and I just comment how I hate to proof read my work… here is your chance to say "I told you so!" There was a pretty massive typo at the end of the last chapter. I'm gonna see if I can fix it, but I don't know how? Okay… the judge should have said, "This ISN'T over" instead of "This IS over." As you can see… that kinda changes the whole meaning. I was actually thinking about not saying anything, but I hear confession is good for the soul. (Looks at you with big Bambi eyes) Please forgive me! Now, on to the new chapter…

Blair walked slowly into the bathroom as if on a death march. Dorota hovered behind her knowing this was not going to be good. Taking a deep breath Blair steeled her will, flicked her hair off her shoulders, shut her eyes and stepped onto the scale.

"Well?" Blair demanded, her eyes still closed.

Dorota looked down at the number and tried to come up with a way to tell Blair the news without triggering the nuclear reaction, which had been Blair's standard response to bad news lately… or maybe always. This was something Dorota was usually good at, but Hormonal Blair had changed the rules.

"You okay for woman who is having baby in few months."

"131 pounds!" Blair screeched at the scale when she saw the numbers come up.

"Is baby." Dorota commented taking Blair's arm and edging her off the scale so at least the numbers would be gone, and maybe she'd calm down.

"I've read the books! Right now this baby allegedly weighs three pounds! If that's true, then why have I gained 22?"

"Water weight?" Dorota offered.

"This is Chuck's fault! I've never weighed more than 116lbs my whole life. Now? With his baby mutating inside of me? I'm Kirsty Alley. Jenny Craig will be calling me any minute!"

"You want Mr. Chuck's baby, you have Mr. Chuck's baby. You just have no Mr. Chuck. Why don't I make you some hot tea? The one your Papa sent you from Cambodia."

"I don't want tea! I want my thighs back!" Blair paused, her mood changing faster then usual, running her hand over her baby bump. "Besides… the baby wants banana bread French toast with crème fraiche… and a chocolate milkshake."

"Maybe baby want fruit or vegetable every now and then…" Dorota commented but bit her tongue at the look Blair shot her, and then she hurried out of the room to get the food.

She'd just made it to the stairs when she heard a crash and the shatter of glass. Dorota didn't need to guess at the sound since she had a pretty good idea that it was the scale being hurled into the mirror. It was the fourth time this month.

Stepping away from the broken glass in the bathroom, Blair moved into her bedroom and walked into her expansive closet. Slipping off her silk robe she took a dress out and slipped it on. It was a halter and she studied her appearance with her usual criticalness.

"Look at that!" She commanded her reflection, as she lifted her arms and shook them. "I have bubbie arms!"

With a sneer of disdain, she pulled the dress off, tossed it across her lounge and grabbed another. The zipper froze at the small of her back and refused to go any higher.

"This is just what he wanted! For me to get fat! It's as if he knows I have plans with Nate tonight and his genes added ten pounds to my body." She charged at her reflection. "This is so typical. He doesn't want me, but he doesn't want anyone else to have me either! Basstard!"

Dorota returned shortly and began assisting Blair with getting ready for the gala she was attending with Nate tonight. Tucking the straw in the corner of her mouth, Blair sipped at her milkshake as she thought about how gallant Nate had been since her divorce. When she had awoke to find realtors showing her bathroom to couple who'd made a fortune producing Hemp fabric, she'd nearly hired a hit man to take out her Machiavellian ex. But as if on a white horse, Nate had shown up and helped her move into a hotel, and then went with her to a never ending amount of showings before she settled on this place. It was perfect. Perfect neighbourhood. Perfect view. And since furnishing it with her personal décor, it had a perfect interior too. It also was perfect in another way since the whole place lacked any reminder of Chuck… except maybe the ever more present reminder of his affect on her life that grew bigger inside her everyday. She knew Nate was still best friends with the bAss, but regardless, Nate had proved himself a great friend to her, so when he asked her to attend the Gala at the Met tonight, she could have hardly refused.

A few hours later, she headed downstairs to where Nate was waiting.

"You look beautiful." Nate smiled as he watched her walk down the stairs.

"I must say, Archibald, I love it when you lie to me... Feel free to continue" She commented dryly, as she let him help her on with her coat.

"Have I told you how thin you look tonight? Practically an Olsen." He smiled into her ear.

"I'm going to forget you said that." Cringing at his comparison of her fashion sense to that of someone with a line at Walmart. "Now, can we stop of at Grey's Papaya? I need a hot dog… and a piece of cantaloupe."

The next day Chuck scowled at the copy of the front page of Page Six, before throwing it into the fire. Blair and Nate stood together in the Atrium of the Met as the caption below the photo declared them to be the perfect couple. He sat back in his desk chair, folded his hands across his chest, and thought about how the more things changed the more they stayed the same.

He was just getting up to pour himself a drink when his secretary announced Nate.

"Nathanial." Chuck greeted non-commitally.

Nate nodded to his friend as he slouched in a captain's chair across from Chuck's desk. The silence dragged, and Chuck was the first one to break it.

"How is she?"

"As well as can be expected." Nate commented lounging back in his chair.

Chuck poured himself a drink and tossed it back, before refilling his own glass and making one up for Nate. He handed it off to him, before taking his seat behind his desk.

"I saw the paper. Don't you think the gala was a little much? I was thinking more along the lines of a shopping spree at Barney's or feeding the ducks at the park… Humiliating the nouveau riche of 5th Avenue… You know, things she finds restive."

"You know for someone who divorced her and sold her home out from under her, you seem pretty concerned about her stress level." Nate shook his head at his friend's scowl. "She was fine. I told her she was beautiful and thin, and you know that always makes her feel better. Basically I lied, but I've done it for years so she's used to it. In fact, it's kind of our thing now."

Nate smiled thinking about the friendship he had developed over the years with Blair. Given his very liberal politics, some of his Village friends thought it odd that he was close with two of the most powerful, materialistic capitalists in New York, but if there was one thing he understood, it was Chuck and Blair. The more deeply he got into politics, the more Nate felt that Chuck and Blair would have been perfect for it… they knew where all the bodies were buried. Unfortunately, they had racked up a pretty high number of skeletons in their own closets, which barred them from political life. Nate didn't think that either one of them lost too much sleep over that. They were Chuck and Blair. Another reason Nate had come to see them as perfect for each other, was that they accepted each other as is. They'd been out for each other's blood for the past few months, but that didn't change the fact that they loved each other.

"You didn't lie."

"What's that?" Nate asked confused, as Chuck's comment drew him out of his own thoughts.

"You didn't lie." Chuck repeated as he walked over to stand before the fire. The paper had long since burned, but it was as if he could still see the perfection of her face. "She looked beautiful.

TahDaH! Okay, I actually put a great deal of thought into Blair's weight. Maybe too much. I remember Dan saying she weighed 95lbs, but I have no idea. I'm not good at guessing people's weight… and also, I have to say it's not something I spend a lot of time trying to do. I don't really care how much anyone weights. So, if you are more knowledgeable then me on the weight thing… I'm sorry if I was way off. Oh, and speaking of weight… Banana bread French toast with crème fraiche is to die for… except if you eat it more than once in a blue moon it will probably kill you… or add on about 10lbs per serving. SO GOOD though!

Oh, and congrats to Joliane on getting my Old Hollywood reference. Clark Gable knocked up Loretta Young and she went to Europe and had the baby in secret. A few months later she returned to Hollywood with her "adopted" daughter. Twisted. For some reason I love stories that sound like a soap opera but are really in real life.


	7. Chapter 7

Hello! How are all of you today! I'm crossing my fingers that my union sees sense and we don't go on strike at my work tomorrow. If they do, well, let's just say I'll have more time on my hands to write. No money to buy food during the school year, but plenty of time… Frak. Okay, here we go…

Blair sat perched on the edge of the bench, trying not to think about what stains her dress could be acquiring as she sat on "Public" property, and focused on edging the toe of her shoe towards the handle of her fallen purse. If she could just hook it and pull it closer she could get her cell phone, which was inside. She wasn't going to worry about the other contents that were strewn along the sidewalk.

She was so focused on what she was doing she didn't even notice the people who were headed towards her until she heard her name called out.

"Blair?"

Glancing over her shoulder her eyes narrowed on Jenny, Vanessa, and, unfortunately, Dan as they approached her from about a half a block away. Turning her head away from them she rolled her eyes heavenward and questioned "Why?" before turning her head back to them with her face a mask of the fake pleasantry she always tended to use around this group. Well, most of them anyway. Over the years Jenny and she had formed a loose friendship, and Blair held a grudging respect for the girl who went after what she wanted with the same zeal that Blair executed.

"Hello."

"I thought that was you!" Jenny commented smiling as they all now stood in front of Blair.

"Yeah, I told her she had to be delusional, but here you are. Does the Upper East Side know you've escaped or are you out on a day pass."

"Funny… It seems there are more people trying to break into the neighbourhood then break out… Interlopers you know… And you don't need a pass when you belong there." She said looking him up and down.

"Even though you're not Mrs. Chuck Bass anymore?" He seemed to take a snide pleasure in pointing out.

"I'm still Blair Waldorf, and believe me, that's more than enough." She shot back.

Sensing that these two together were like putting cats and dogs in the same cage, Jenny interceded. "So, Blair? What brings you down here? We were just checking out my new boutique down the block. Thanks for the flowers at the opening!"

Blair had been invited to the opening but had taken a pass given that in all likelihood Chuck would have been there. They all took note of the pinched look that washed over her face and assumed it was caused by that situation. Blair took the opportunity to change the subject.

"The best embroider in the city is run out of that shop." Blair gestured over her shoulder. "I had to pick up the clothes and blankets I'd had monogrammed. I was just about to call my car service when…" She indicated her fallen purse, and spared Dan and Vanessa a glance. "Would you mind…"

Glancing at each other they dropped down and began collecting the spilled contents.

"Umm…" Vanessa commented, and pointed to the puddle she just noticed. "Is that what I think it is?"

"No." Blair snapped quickly.

All eyes were on Blair now, and they were realizing that her pained expression might have less to do with her having to suffer their presence and more to do with the arrival of someone else.

"Blair…" Jenny began nervously. "Are you in labour?"

"I most certainly am not." Blair snapped. "I have a C-Section scheduled for two weeks from tomorrow. My parents, all of them, are flying in from Europe in two days, Serena is at a spa with Lars uptown, and Dorota is in Boston picking up the hand engraved cutlery set I ordered. Charlie is not coming now."

"Charlie?" Vanessa questioned with a raised brow.

Blair snapped her fingers and pointed to her swollen abdomen. "Charles Harold Bartholomew Bass II."

"Oh, god." Dan groaned. "Just what the world needs; two Chucks."

Once again ignoring him. "Now, if you'll just pass me my phone, I'll call for my car and you can be on your way."

Dan and Vanessa were happy to do just that, when Blair suddenly gasped and lurched forward, clutching the bench for support. Jenny looked at them, and they knew they weren't going anywhere.

"It will pass. Go!" Blair commanded when she saw that they had no intention of leaving.

"Yeah, I'm sure when the baby pops out of you you'll feel much better." Vanessa commented as she finished gathering Blair's things from the ground and then started looking around to hail a cab.

Blair would have snapped out a comeback, but another pain caught her off guard, and she leaned forward panting.

"Whoa!" Dan said, shock in his voice. "That seemed fast! Was that fast? That was fast!"

"Really fast." Jenny said, sitting down next to Blair and taking her hand. "When did your contractions start?"

"They haven't." Blair said coolly when she could catch her breath. "I'm not in labour. This is just Braxton Hicks, false labour."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Okay, so when did these 'false labour' pains start?"

Not making eye contact, Blair kept her gaze level on a tree across the street. "During breakfast… yesterday."

"BLAIR!" The three yelled in unison.

"We have to get you to the hospital."

Finally spotting a cab, Vanessa started to wave it over, when a black car pulled up and they all looked at each other questioningly.

"It's my service." Blair commented not caring at this point how the car got there, but only that she didn't have to ride in a taxi.

Holding out her arms in silent command, Dan took her arm and helped her into the car. He stood back as if to shut the door after her, but Jenny cut him off.

"She can't go by herself. You need to go with her."

"Me? Why me?" He asked in disbelief.

"Because Vanessa is going to go get Nate, who will be able to find Chuck, and I'm going to go and get Serena."

"Why can't I go get Nate?"

"Because then Vanessa would have to go with Blair, and that would be a fate worse than death for both of them."

"Amen, sister." Vanessa chipped in.

"Well… Why can't I get Serena?" He questioned, desperate to get out of Blair duty.

"Do you really want to be the one to interrupt her and 'Lars' during couples massage?"

Dan groaned, glanced at the open car door and then back at his sister. "Just hurry."

It wasn't until he was speeding towards the hospital, that he realized the third option of Vanessa interrupting the porn, Jenny attending the birth of Satan's child, and him finding Nate. However, as a stifled scream broke from Blair all thoughts flew out of his head.

"Oh! I think he's coming!" Blair screamed.

Unsure Dan touched the hem of her dress. "Maybe I should take a—"

His ear would ring for a week from the slap that landed across his cheek.

They pulled up outside of Blair's hospital, and to both Blair and Dan's surprise there was a full medical team waiting to greet them. They rushed Blair onto a gurney and hurried her inside with Dan following closely behind. After a quick examination by her doctor they took her strait to a birthing room.

"Won't be long now." The doctor assured her.

"Wait! What about my epidural? If I have to do it this way, I want drugs!" She panted as they settled her into the bed.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Waldorf, you're too far along for that now. We'll just have to do this the old fashioned way." He patted her knee.

If Dan had ever seen someone about to commit murder, it was Blair in that moment. He caught her a second before she lurched for the doctor's throat. Falling back on the propped bed, she struggled to catch her breath as another pain shook her. She didn't even notice Dan mopping the sweat off her brow with a hospital towel until it had passed.

"This wasn't the plan." She moaned, fighting tears, and turning her head away from Dan. "He was supposed to have gotten over it by now. He had two more weeks to change his mind. He was supposed to be here."

Dan didn't need to ask who she was talking about, and he didn't know what to say, so he just took her hand and let her crush the bones in it as the next contraction started up.

Nate burst through the doors of the long shutdown Victor/Victrola, and sighed with relief after having finally located Chuck. He'd searched half the town looking for him after Vanessa had burst in on a private meeting to tell him that Blair was in labour. After helping his secretary up and then excusing her, he'd ignored Vanessa's judgmental look as she'd stormed out of his office, and he began calling around for Chuck.

With no success, he'd wracked his brain for where Chuck might be, and his first club was the only thing that came to mind. Now he saw him, sitting on the couch before the stage, an empty bottle of scotch in front of him and a second cracked open.

"Why are you just sitting here?" Nate demanded coming to stand in front of Chuck blocking his vacant stare towards the empty stage. "Blair's in labour!"

"I know." Chuck murmured, taking another drink from his glass.

"How do you…" Nate looked confused before he realized how Chuck would already know. "You've been having her followed."

"Yes… he called when as soon as her water broke. I sent a car for her and assembled her medical team. They've been on standby for weeks… they're probably thrilled she's going early so they can relax…"

It was like Chuck was talking, but he didn't really think anyone was there. Nate tried to break through to him.

"She's having your baby. You should be there. Be with her."

"I can't." Chuck said sadly.

"You can't what? Be a man?" Nate snapped, losing his temper.

"I can't watch her die."

With his words, Chuck finally looked up at Nathanial, and Nate was taken aback by what he saw in his friend's eyes. Chuck was tormented. Knowing he couldn't leave him alone like this, Nate poured himself a glass, sank into a chair, and settled in to pass the time with Chuck.

With a final push that was accompanied by a gut wrenching scream, Blair felt the baby flush from her body. She held her breath until she heard the sound of his enraged cry at having been expulsed from his warm womb. Her relief at that cry allowed her to try to breathe herself. Almost immediately the doctor placed her goop-covered son on her chest, and after finally taking her son into her arms, it was as if a part of her had been missing, and that now that he was here, that hole was filled. Her eyes swam with tears and as she blinked they escaped down her cheeks.

"You're worth it." She whispered breathlessly against his damp cap of dark hair. "You're worth it! You're worth everything!"

Blair vaguely registered the doctor handing Dan the scissors to cut the cord, and him doing it with a look of awkwardness and awe on his face. All too soon a nurse was whisking him from her arms to weigh and measure him, and the doctor was encouraging her to bear down so she could deliver the afterbirth. Blair accidentally caught a glimpse of it as the doctor dropped it into a waiting bowl.

"Oh, my GOD!"

"What?" Dan jumped.

"That's placenta? It's disgusting! I can't believe I have that put in my hair!" She bemoaned touching her lustrous locks.

She was distracted from the thoughts of what other beauty treatments she used without a thought to what they actually were, by the return of her son to her arms. Her eyes were glued to the wrinkled little face, and soulful dark eyes that looked up at her. She spoke to Dan without looking at him.

"I swear to God, after what I've just gone through, if you don't tell me he's perfect I'll strangle you by your skinny tie." She commented with a smile on her face.

Dan looked down at the baby chuckling, having been just about to make a comment about the baby's horns being barely noticeable. "He's perfect. A credit to his gene pool."

It was then that Dan glanced at Blair's face and he was brought up short. It was a side of Blair he had never seen. Her face was alight with true joy, as if she held everything she could ever want in her arms.

Through the euphoria a pain broke through as she looked at her son. "Chuck should have been here."

"Chuck's an idiot."

Much later that night, long after the many visitors had come and gone, paying their respects to the new heir apparent to the Bass fortune, and quite possibly of the Upper East Side, Blair slept in her private hospital suite.

Chuck had just come from making a sizable donation to the hospital, and he stood in the doorway for a moment, before slowly walking in to stand at her bedside. Once there he just looked at her. He stared for what seemed like forever as he tried to reassure himself that she was alright. She looked tired, but ultimately intact. He let out a breath he felt like he had been holding for 38 weeks. She hadn't been taken from him. Chuck couldn't resist reaching out and tracing the perfect line of her jaw with his index finger.

It was then that he heard him. Looking over to the other side of the bed, he spotted the bassinette he hadn't noticed before in his distraction of assuring himself Blair was fine. The tiny mews and gurgles brought Chuck to stand over the bassinette and look down on his son. His first thought was to smile at how the baby was clearly swaddled in a non-hospital issue chenille blanket, and sporting an Egyptian cotton cap with his initials embroidered across the top. The baby started to fuss and Chuck glanced over at Blair and saw her stir. Not wanting to wake her he looked back at the baby and awkwardly lifted him into his arms. Nothing had felt more foreign or more right to Chuck in his entire life as he held his son for the first time. At this close range he finally looked at his face, and was blown away at seeing, even at this early age, a perfect melding of Blair and himself.

Just a few feet away, Blair had come awake to see Chuck take Charlie into his arms for the first time, and she had kept silent as she experienced the moment she'd waited for all of these months. She could see Chuck fall in love with him.

Then anger swept through her. It was too late. He was too late.

"You shouldn't be here." She broke in coldly.

Chuck looked up at her and didn't register her tone. Instead he spoke with awe what he was thinking. "He's perfect."

"Yes." She agreed holding out her arms. "Yes, he is. And he's mine. Give me my son and leave."

For a moment Chuck looked like he might just walk out of the room and take Charlie with him, but he reluctantly handed him to his mother. Blair immediately cradled him to her chest protectively and tried to stare Chuck out of the room. She froze as he stepped forward and placed a soft kiss on her ridged cheek.

"Thank you for my son." He whispered against it before turning to leave.

"He's not your son." She said bitterly. "You signed him away."

Chuck turned back, looked into her eyes and saw she was preparing to do battle. He didn't acknowledge her words as he left the room. He would walk away for now, but nothing would keep him from getting back his wife and son. Nothing.

TahDaH! There you go! I hope that you all enjoyed that. At like 2am yesterday I started watching season one again. Just the Chuck and Blair stuff mind you. Gotta love early Chair. If you're looking you can see that Chuck is already half in love with her before Victor/Victrola. They better still be together when the show comes back in September.


	8. Chapter 8

Hello, everyone! Did you think I was dead? Not quite. Many apologies for my tardy chapter. My work is on strike, and I went to go to my mom's house for a couple of days and ended up staying almost two weeks. I'm a much more tanned writer at the moment. Come, on! You can't stay mad at me! I swear I'm too cute to stay made at! Here we go…

Blair lay sprawled on her bed, the bassinette at her side. She watched Charlie as he lay swaddled in his blanket, and she gently smoothed a lock of fine dark hair off his forehead. She tried very hard not to notice how the action reminded her of a similar one she'd used on Chuck a million times.

She quickly choked back the emotion she told herself she was imagining as she heard the elevator chime, and Dorota announce that Serena was here. Pulling herself up, she straightened her hair, and adjusted her nightgown. A moment later Serena swept into the room in her usual whirl of sunshine and smiles. If Blair didn't love her so much, it would have been enough to make her sick.

"Baby please!" Serena chirped as she flopped down on the end of Blair's bed, her arms reaching out for Charlie.

"Have you washed your hands?" Blair slapped Serena's outstretched hands away, already knowing the answer.

Serena rolled her eyes, but got up and headed for the en suite bathroom. "Ahh, Blair what would I do without your anal tendencies."

"You're the one who's been know to take mass transit. You touch Charlie and it's like everyone who's touched the handrail today is touching him. Why do you want the unemployed flasher from Queens to touch my baby?"

Rolling her eyes Serena went into the bathroom and washed her hands. She was about to dry them when she heard Blair call out.

"My, my… twenty seconds goes by faster then it used to."

Serena washed her hands again.

By the time she came out Blair had lifted Charlie from his bassinette and soon handed him over to Serena.

"God, he looks like Chuck." Serena said as she cooed down at Charlie.

"It's the hairline." Blair said dismissively, knowing it was more than that.

"And the nose, and the eyes, and the chin, and the—"

"Thank you! I get. Don't remind me." Blair snapped, cutting her friend off.

"Has he seen him yet?"

Blair shot Serena a look in response.

"I mean besides when you kicked him out of the hospital." She asked looking at Blair out of the corner of one eye as she kept her face trained on the baby.

"I didn't kick him out; he left a long time ago! And I don't see why I'm the evil Queen just for keeping him away. Everyone just goes on and on, about how much Chuck has changed, how much he wants to be a father to Charlie, blah, blah, blah!"

"I'll take that as a no." Serena decided to move on to another topic. "Okay, so… have you left the building yet? Dorota says you haven't made it past the doorman since you brought Jr. home two months ago. B, you're turning into the Howard Hughes of the Upper East Side!"

"I'm in recovery." Blair pouted falling back on the pillows. "I've been Bassed."

"You survived. Time to face the world, B!"

Her current hermit tendencies weren't exactly accurate. Blair had made it past the doorman exactly twice. Each time she had made it no more than a couple of blocks before a long black limo had come sliding up to the curb beside her. Turning on a dime she'd taken herself and her son back home, ignoring the man who had stepped out to watch them go.

As if reading her mind, Serena asked "Is this about Chuck?"

"No!" Blair bit out, folding her hands across her lap. "It's about me. I'm nesting. Read a parenting book. Plus, I'm not ready to be exposed in public. I had more people between my legs then Pink Berry has customers. I saw a woman on the street, and couldn't place her for a minute. And yes, I'm pretty sure she's touched my cervix. I just want to be able to control who I see, and who sees me for a while longer. That's not so unreasonable."

"Okay." Serena said to placate her friend. "But if it is about Chuck… I think he just wants to be Charlie's father. It's what you wanted too."

Blair changed the subject, putting it to the edge of her mind until later. Serena stayed for dinner and left shortly after. Dorota came and took Charlie away for his nightly bath, and Blair lay down to wait for them to return and inadvertently fell asleep. In her mind she saw Chuck. She always saw Chuck. They were in his office and she sat perched on the edge of his desk. He stood before her, his lips gently sucking on his favourite spot behind her ear, and his hands were slowly sliding up the hem of her skirt.

Blair came awake with a jerk. She was still breathless from the dream as she became aware of her darkened surrounding. Glancing at the clock she saw that it was just past 2am, and someone had shut the drapes, and turned out her lights. Getting up she checked the video monitor and saw that Charlie was sound asleep in his crib in the nursery. She walked over to the window, knowing she wouldn't get to sleep anytime soon, and wishing her thoughts didn't always run to Chuck Bass. Going with it tonight, she let her mind drift back to when they first became more than friends…

_Flashback_

_Still breathless they finally broke apart, and they moved back to their respective sides of the limo. They redressed themselves in silence, Blair not looking at Chuck, and Chuck not taking his eyes off Blair. The alcohol and the numerous events of the night were spinning around her head, making it hard to focus on any specifics or any future repercussions. She'd just pulled her strap up over her shoulder when they pulled up in front of her building, and Chuck had barely finished straightening his tie before she was opening the door. About to flee, she paused, turned and threw herself back at Chuck, kissing him passionately, her fingers tangled in the hair at his nape. In the next instance, before he could even react or kiss her back, she was gone with the slam of the door._

_She made it up to the penthouse and into her room without incident, her mind numb for the moment, and fell onto her bed and into a deep sleep before any realization even had a chance to sink in. The next morning was another story._

_For a moment she'd been disoriented, and sat up, wincing slightly at the tender feeling the action caused. Something was off. Then it hit her. She smelled of Chuck. Dashing to her bath, she'd immediately scrubbed it from her body till her skin was pink. It took a lot to stun Blair, but losing her virginity to Chuck Bass in the back of his limo was definitely something that did it. Questioning her sanity and needing absolution she'd dressed and headed for the Cathedral. Her clean slate had been tarnished however by the events of her birthday party. _

_After having made out for several minutes on their host's brother's bed, Blair had pulled away. Looking him dead in the eye, she'd said steadily, "Meet me at your limo in ten minutes."_

_Chuck had slipped out of the room, allowing her to freshen up, and head out into the party with her head held high and jewels around her throat. She said goodnight to everyone as fast as she could, she'd barely noticed the odd way in which Serena was looking at her. Blair shrugged it off, and made a hasty exit letting them believe that it was Gossip Girl's bombshell that had killed her mood to party. Alighting the steps she's slipped into Chuck's limo and they'd made a quick groping trip to the Palace. They'd separated as they walked into the entrance way, looking much like they had a million times when Chuck would have Blair over for a late night raid of the Palace's kitchen after clubbing, and up to his suite, and then there hadn't been very much separating them for the rest of the night._

_The next morning, she'd awoken face down in his bed, and shoving the cloud of dark hair that floated around her off her face, she not only saw him but felt him as well. His face was pressed into the curve of her hip, and his arm angled up slope of her bare back. His breath moved across her skin, and for a second she caught her own breath at the heated sensations that it caused to burn within her. Great, she thought, two nights with Chuck Bass and she turned on like a light. Easing away from him she'd made it to the bathroom without him waking. After showering, and trying to set some rights to her hair, Blair slipped into his silk robe that hung on the back of the door, and tried to mentally prepare herself to put her cocktail dress from the night before back on and do the walk of shame across the lobby. Well, that was one way to get Gossip Girl to stop talking about Nate and some girl. Coming out of the bathroom, she was just in time to see a bellhop roll in a silver covered trolley, and set the small table._

_Chuck tipping him when he looked up and saw her there. He smiled as they were left alone and then pulled out a chair._

"_At the very least, you should have breakfast with. I'm beginning to feel cheap."_

_He used that smile, the real one. The one that he let so few people see, but the one that she saw more than anyone. Taking her seat she let him push in her chair, but she felt the need to comment, even as she reached for a croissant, "I really should go." _

"_It's taken care of." Chuck said sipping from his cup. With a slight indication of his head, Blair turned to see there was a vintage day dress hanging from a hook._

_With that worry out of the way she'd been able to enjoy herself through the rest of the quiet breakfast, knowing that anyone in the lobby with a camera phone would see nothing more then her leaving Serena's building and most likely assume she'd just come from a breakfast with her._

_In the days that followed Chuck had given her space, as if knowing she needed it. It hadn't stopped the knowing looks he'd given her as they passes in the halls, but he'd kept his hands to himself, which was a good thing because apparently Blair had no willpower when it came to Chuck at all. They could never work. He was Chuck Bass. She was Blair Waldorf. Never. _

_Thanksgiving had come and been a disaster… until it hadn't. The moments she had shared in the kitchen with her mother, had been some of her favourites. After saying their goodnights, she wandered around her room touching this and that, and thinking about how nothing today had gone as planned, but somehow it still hadn't turned out half bad. Maybe it was time to go of grid a bit; do something she wanted to do, even if it wasn't the thing she should do. Blair knew she really should have just gone to bed. Instead she'd called Chuck. _

_End of flashback._

Coming back to the present, Blair shut the curtain. Those days had changed them, prior to that they'd never let themselves be more than good friends, but after… It was like they were never able to turn it off. Blair still burned for Chuck. However, she was still scorched by his absolute rejection. There was no place for him in her life.

Walking into the nursery she looked down on her sleeping son, he fussed in his sleep and she scooped him up in her arms and held him close to her chest as she sat down in the rocking chair in the corner. As she cradled him, she hummed Moon River softly until he settled back to sleep. Looking at her son she knew that while there was no place in her life for his father, Charlie deserved to have Chuck in his life. She'd always known that Chuck would be an amazing father… for the most part he'd just do whatever the opposite was of what his father had done. She'd wanted Chuck to be the father of her children, and now he seemed to want to be the father of her first, she thought, so maybe it was for the best if she just let him be.

The next morning, dressed carefully to match not only her son, but also the classic English pram her father had sent her, Blair adjusted her sunglasses and started down the street. She didn't have to wait long. This time when the limo pulled up she didn't turn tail and run, but waited as Chuck got out.

"Blair." He greeted looking at her resigned expression. "I hardly recognized you from the front… However… I didn't mind. You know how much I do so love all of you angles."

Blair's head slanted to the side as she looked at him from behind her glasses, dismissing his comment without a word. Chuck's gaze slid away from her and into the pram.

"He's gotten so big." Chuck said with near wonder as he gently reached out and touched Charlie's tiny hand.

Blair threw ice water on her heart as she saw the joy that crossed Chuck's face at seeing their son.

"Yes, from what I understand, they have a tendency to do that." Blair commented coolly, taking her glasses off so Chuck could feel the full effect of her gaze. "We have to go. We're meeting my mother and Cyrus for lunch. You can come to my apartment and see Charlie tomorrow at three. If that's not convenient th—"

"I'll be there." Chuck said, feeling out his victory. "I'll even bring the macaroons."

"Don't bother." She said, putting on her shades again. "I won't be there. Dorota will act in my place, and as per usual I would appreciate it if you didn't molest the help. Whether I've regretted my decision or not, you're still Charlie's father, and I would never deny him of that, but you and I Chuck? There's nothing left here."

Chuck made not comment to her last words, but merely reconfirmed his choice. "I'll be there at three."

Blair gave an infinitesimal nod, and started down the street, pushing the pram at a quick pace.

Chuck watched her, every part of her, walk away, and when she was a suitable distance he allowed himself to smile. "One down. One to go."

TaHDAH!! I hope you all enjoyed that! I'm headed up to my mom's again, because if you have to be broke you might as well be well rested. I'll be there about a week and a half, and I'll try to have a new chapter up when I get back. Did I mention the student loan people contacted me to tell me I can't have my this year's loan till I pay them back for them OVER paying me last year? THEY were the ones that figured out how much they were going to give me in the first place! Crap. I'm beginning to think post secondary education is HIGHLY overrated.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello! Have any of you heard the Cobra Starship song that Leighton sings on? I can't get it out of my head. The girl's got a good voice. I actually think they could do something pretty interesting with having her sing on the show. Like Blair is having a hard time fitting in, because lets face it, she's more Yale than NYU, so she starts trying new things. I see them all out at a club, Dan, Serena, Vanessa, Nate and Chuck are all arguing about something when they hear voice from the stage. Serena, Chuck and Nate all pause, and Chuck's like "Who gave her tequila?" and Vanessa is like "Who is that? They're pretty good." They go into the main room and Blair is up on stage singing with the band… something upbeat and fast. Here we go…

Blair sat on the settee in her formal living room with her two and a half month old son on her lap, his back propped against her raised knees so that they could have a proper conversation.

"Now listen… Your father is coming to visit you. Yes, shocking I know, but he is coming." She looked at the deep brown eyes that were set in his small face, and she softened her tone. "You're almost three months old, and you have probably been wondering where your daddy is since all the other babies at Mommy and Me have daddies… except for Ella. She has two mommies. Just like you have two Grand-peres... but that's a talk for another time… What I'm trying to say is… You didn't hear this from me, and if you tell anyone, I'll deny everything and send you to boarding school when your four… but you have a good daddy. Way better than that Clover girl in baby yoga. Her father is a vegan who wears crocs to work. Enough said."

Blair looked at Charlie and he looked back at her.

"Sorry. Now, you're going to be on your own with your daddy for a little while, but I'll see you soon… If you need anything just scream really loudly and Dorota will come. Those are words to live by, my son, but I digress… If anything should happen, like he forgets you somewhere or drops you on your head, I promise you I will choke the very life out of him by his scarf."

Charlie had been looking at his mother rather sedately until that point, but now his mouth broke in to a toothless smile and a jerky new giggle.

"Oh? You think that's funny do you?" Blair said as a true laugh of her own bubbled up from within her.

"Finally! A Blair Waldorf plot I can get on board with!"

Looking up with mild surprise accompanied by a raised eyebrow, Blair saw Dan walking into her living room.

"Ha. Ha." She quipped. "But just incase Chuck goes missing… You heard nothing."

Dan smiled as he sat down on the edge of the settee and took the baby from Blair. Putting on a stern voice, he addressed the baby.

"So, young Bass? You've go an appetite for destruction… You are your parent's son."

Blair rolled her eyes. "Can I help you with something, or did you just come here to besmirch my name to my only child? I'm hoping to hold out on that till he's old enough to read Page Six."

"In that case let's hope he gets to that before what I wrote in your yearbook. Here." He said taking a pouch from his pocket and handing it to her. "My mom saw these chains in the health food store and when you wear them it's supposed to neutralize the acidity in your body… I thought it might help with Charlie's diaper rash."

If this had been a few months ago, Blair might have been surprised by Dan's behaviour, but apparently a man seeing a baby nearly rip it's mother apart as it came into the world, fostered a connection Dan seemed to be honouring. After he had first showed up with a stuffed bear a few days after she'd come home from the hospital, she told him he didn't have to play daddy, but it seemed, for some unknown reason, that Dan had his sights set on playing uncle.

"Thank you." Blair said, before her nose turned up at the necklace revealed in the pouch. "He's not wearing that."

"Come on! It can be his first of many accessories. Or, I'm sorry, am I too late? Have you already had him fitted for his crown?"

"Give me my baby."

The other handy thing that crossed Blair's mind on more then one occasion was that it would irritate Chuck to no end when he found out. Any irritation for Chuck that could be removed without a shot of penicillin was alright as far as Blair was concerned.

"What is this?" Said a sneer from the door.

Think of the devil…

"Chuck," Blair said, as she tried to sound surprised. "You're early."

"What's he doing here?" Chuck questioned harshly while ignoring the man in question.

Rolling his eyes at Chuck's tone, Dan rubbed Charlie on the head, handed him to his mother, and made a hasty exit. With him gone Chuck and Blair faced off against each other in the now too quiet room. Chuck threw down the gauntlet first.

"Are you going to tell me what Humphrey was doing here? With you? With my son?"

Blair shrugged, once again trying to keep her expression bland.

"He cut the cord." She reminded him flippantly.

"I planted the seed…" Chuck drawled out as his eyes skimmed over her body. He changed subjects and tones the way an Indy driver changed gears. Quick and smooth. "I must say Mrs. Bass… You do seem to have snapped back from our joint venture nicely… But to be sure… I'd have to get a closer look…"

"Try it and see how easy it is tying a bow tie with only three fingers." Blair said through a vicious smile. "And it's Waldorf, remember?"

Chuck smiled, having missed her ire almost as much as he missed her. Clearing his throat he moved on. "So what are we doing today?"

She pulled out one of her most authoritarian voices. "We," she stressed "are not doing anything. You, are going to have some time with Charlie, and in one hour, you will walk with Dorota over to the pond to give me back my baby."

Chuck just looked at her, not conveying how disappointed he was that she wasn't staying. At this moment he still had to appear to be playing by her rules, and not let on that the game had changed. Given what he knew he nodded.

Taking the nod as an affirmation of her plan, she moved in to hand Chuck his son. Still new to this, Chuck awkwardly accepted him, but his arms got tangled with Blair's and she couldn't risk a fast step back that could send Charlie to the floor, so for two heart stopping moments the former couple were locked together. Their heads mere centimeters apart, they looked into each other's eyes and could see everything that was left unsaid living there. Shaken, Blair slowly extricated herself from the embrace and took a much-needed step back to gain her composure.

As she looked at them now it didn't help to see the image Chuck and Charlie made. It seemed like the dream of a lifetime ago. Turning away, she picked her light coat off the back of a chair and slipped it on.

"I just fed him an—" She said, absently as she tied up her belt.

"I'm jealous…" Chuck drawled, letting his eyes caress her more ample chest.

"You're disgusting." Blair clarified, with a curl of her lip. "He has had everything he needs, so unless he has to be changed you should be getting off light. I'll see you in the park in an hour."

Chuck watched her go and only when the elevator door slid shut did he look away. Moving towards a chair he sat, and angled Charlie so they could look at each other.

"Soooo…. Has anyone told you about the birds and the bees yet…"

Going on fifty minutes later, Blair made her way along the tree-lined path that would take her to her favourite spot in the park. She'd never been away from Charlie for this long, so her mind was so preoccupied with thoughts of him, that she didn't hear the bike coming up behind her. Before she knew anything, it had clipped her side and sent her stumbling off the path, her heel sinking deep into the soft earth and sticking there.

Flustered she pulled at her leg, and scowled at the man who had hopped off his bike and rushed to her side.

"Sorry! Sorry! I'm so sorry!" He rushed out, as he knelt at her side, his hands on her calf and he helped her pull her leg free. "I don't know how that happened?"

Still frazzled from what she considered a near brush with death, Blair snapped the first thing that came to mind. "It happened because you suck!"

For a second the man looked caught off guard, but then he chuckled. "You're probably right. I'm new to New York, and I haven't quite gotten the hang of biking in the city."

"You might want to start with not running people down." Blair said sharply, looking down at the man who still held her leg. "Do you mind?"

As if he'd forgotten where he was, the man quickly let go, and stood up, holding out his hand.

"I'm Adam Drakewood." He said, smiling at Blair as she ignored his hand.

With her wits back about her, she looked him over with a more discerning eye. He was tall, but not too tall, he had bright blue eyes and sandy blonde hair, he was undeniably good looking, and he was wearing a Yale sweatshirt. He was quite possibly perfect.

"Who you are is someone who should be more careful." Blair reprimanded as she started to move away.

"As you wish." Adam smiled, backing towards his bike.

Blair watched him for a second as he peddled away. Not a bad view, she thought to herself as she continued walking towards the pond.

A few minutes later, Blair sat looking over the ripples in the dark water of the pond and she heard them approach from a short distance away.

"Are you sure he's warm enough? I should have put that second sweater on… Maybe put the extra blanke—"

"Mr. Chuck, baby is fine." Dorota cut him off, clearly having had listened to similar words the whole walk here. "Is not that cold. Look, Mr. Charlie, there is Mama."

A true dimpled smile broke out on Blair's face, and she stood as they reached her, glad to be back with her baby again. Scooping him from his pram she rained kisses on him and cuddled him to her as if they were the only people in the world. Coming back to the fact they were not alone, Blair looked up and saw Chuck watching them with a masked gaze.

"Blair… If I could have a word…"

Blair nodded, slightly uncomfortable about them being alone together, but reminding herself they were in Central Park, surround by hundreds of people. She passed Charlie to Dorota, and she took the baby down to the pond to feed the ducks. Charlie's parents took a seat on the bench and watch them in silence for several minutes. Finally Chuck moved, reaching into his breast pocket.

"I've been meaning…" He began as he pulled out a long velvet box.

Blair's breath stilled as she watch his elegant hands open the box to reveal an antique diamond and sapphire bracelet.

"You didn't have too…" She began as he removed it from the case.

He gently took her hand and slid up her sleeve, laying the jewels across her wrist and quickly doing up the clasp.

"My father gave this to my mother on their first anniversary." He said softly, his hand still holding hers, his thumb rubbing sensual patterns across her pulse point. "It is but a small token of my gratitude for my son…"

Blair could barely think as the her senses reeled, and then all thoughts ran out of her head as Chuck leaned in and she could feel the bare whisper of his breath against her ear. Her eyes rolled back in her head, as her neck rolled to the side to allow him greater access.

"Thank you." He said as a caress.

Pulling back, the cool air of his absence brought Blair crashing back to Earth. Still stunned she looked up at him as he stood and nodded knowingly.

"I'll see you next week."

With that Chuck walked to Dorota, said goodbye to Charlie, and was gone.

Blair looked at him, knowing she'd been Bassed. She couldn't let him do this to her again. Hurt her and walk back in. Not this time.

TahDaH!! Okay, all the "my baby"s were a shout out to my best friend who has a three month old, and constantly refers to her as "my baby". Also, I just wanted to say how much I'm looking forward to season 3. I can't wait to see what happens to Blair at NYU. She is sooooo couture, and NYU is sooooo jeans and sneakers. As I finished this chapter I just watched an interview with Leighton where she is like "All Blair's clothes are just so… Blair." But I also love that she said while Blair is trying to adapt… you can't teach an old dog new tricks. I like Blair the way she is anyway.


	10. Chapter 10

Hello, everyone! I feel the need to set some minds at ease. I don't abandon fics. I don't start a story until I have a pretty clear idea about the ending, so that I have a direction to work towards. If you'd like to see proof, feel free to take a look at my other stories. The multi-chaptered fics, are all completed with the exception of my baby ManOfTheHour, which just may be never-ending. Anyhoo, I just wanted to assure you that even if there is a bit of a gap between chapters, there will be more until I warn you the next chapter will be the last. Here we go…

Blair stood in the foyer, dressed to perfection, and waiting for the elevator. Unfortunately when it arrived it wasn't empty.

"Chuck." Blair greeted, cursing her former spouse's new embracing of punctuality. Sure, now he was on time, but when she waiting for him to find her in a bathtub with edible soap, she turned into a prune. At the memory of what happened after Chuck had shown up, her body heated involuntarily.

"Early again. This must be a record."

"I'm embracing a new me; a fresh start. But you know… It doesn't really matter how you start… It's how you finish. And you know how I do so love to finish…"

With where her mind had been a few moments ago, Blair didn't need the added reminder of Chuck's finishes. Her eyes fluttered shut for a fraction of a heartbeat, barely noticeable, but Chuck caught it didn't even try to hide his knowing smile.

Blair's eyes snapped, and she flicked a lock of her hair back from her shoulder.

"Charlie exploded. It was not pleasant." She said with a shiver, before going on coolly. "Dorota is changing him, and she'll bring him down when she's done."

Chuck smiled glad to have missed one of his infant son's forays into messy wardrobe malfunctions. While he could easily see that he and Blair had every intention of being completely more involved in their child's life they their own parents had been in theirs, it was obvious that they felt some of the more "hands on" aspects should be left to the professionals.

Blair took the opportunity to quickly sidestep Chuck and enter the elevator, pressing the button with a purposeful hand.

"The forecast calls for rain, so don't take him out. I'll be back in an hour." She said, not making eye contact but focusing on the lit up numbers.

The door was about to slide shut when Chuck's hand shot out to halt it.

"One moment…"

Blair cleared her throat and finally looked at him disdainfully, and raised her eyebrows with impatience for him to continue.

"It's about the Hospital Charity Gala next week… I thought we could attend together… since we always have. I'll pick you up at eight."

Before Blair could say anything, Chuck lifted his hand from the door, and if shut on her open mouth. It was already headed for the main floor before she could even put together what had happened. There was no way in hell she was going to go to the Gala with Chuck.

Blair walked at her slowest possible gate through the park. She'd never walked this slowly before in her life, but she did so to give him the maximum time to show up. Thunderclouds rolled over her head, and she checked her watch again. She had only ten minutes before she was due back at the apartment, and probably about three until she was as soaked as a Notebook character. Where was he?

Adam had "bumped" into her three times now and Blair grudgingly now new several things about him. He was a lawyer with a firm of good reputation, he'd graduated at the top of his class from Yale, and he was money, old money that is, from Maine.

What he also was, was tardy.

But given the fact that Nate had already warned her to not involve him in any of their reindeer games, Carter Baizen had gone hedonist with a set of triplets in the islands, and Blair had just decided that it was best to go with someone Chuck didn't know and couldn't influence… Adam was her only choice. If he ever showed up, that is.

Back in her apartment, after Chuck had fed Charlie, his son had the arrogant rudeness to promptly fall asleep. Chuck, carried him into his nursery, and tucked him into his crib. For several moments he just sat in the rocking chair by the bed and watched his son sleep. Chuck wanted to give Charlie everything. He himself had enjoyed the no-limits lifestyle extreme wealth had afforded him, and he wanted Charlie to have the very best of the best as well. And to Chuck, that all started with his parents. Charlie had a mother and father who loved him, and he deserved to have them both in his life, not this tragedy of a timeshare. Getting up he gently stroked the dark silken hair of his son's head.

"Soon." He promised.

A streak of lightening split the sky, leaving a jagged white trail as it connected with the peek of a skyscraper, and Blair rolled her eyes, opening her wide umbrella just seconds before the first fat drops started to hit the walkway. In a clipped pace, she headed for the exit from the park, her mind focused on her shoes and what the water could potentially do to them.

A bike chime catches her unawares and she looks up to see Adam slide up beside her. The rain begins to pelt and he hops off the bike and slides under her umbrella uninvited.

"I got the bell just for you." He smiled. "I thought it was only fair to give you warning before I tried to run you down. It's more fun that way."

"Adam, I'm going to ignore your assault references, and you're going to ask me to the Hospital Charity Gala." She told him.

"I am?"

"You are, and I've accepted." She said, as she reached out and took his phone from where it was hooked to his pants. "Here's my number. Call and we'll set the time."

Adam looked at her with eyes wide with surprise. Shaking his head with bemusement, he chuckled. She handed him back his phone, and looked at him with an air of dismissal.

"I have two stipulations." He cut off her quick departure.

"Of course you do." She said, a fake smile of impatience coming over her face as she pointedly looked at her watch.

It didn't faze Adam at all and he smiled again. "One, you have to meet me for dinner one night before the Gala, otherwise it'll be like you're using me, and we'd hate for me to feel like that, now wouldn't we."

A real smile cracked Blair's lips. "And two?"

"Two… Do you think you could finally tell me your name?"

"Blair Waldorf." She said, oddly enjoying their easy banter. "Can I go now?"

He nodded, and she walked away, leaving him standing in the rain.

"Careful, Blair Waldorf." He smiled calling after her. "I have you in my sights."

Blair didn't pause or turn around, but she couldn't help but smile.

With Charlie still asleep, Chuck glanced at the clock and saw his Little Miss Type A was late. Leaving the nursery Chuck wandered across the hall and into Blair's bedroom. Immediately he felt at home, being surrounded by the familiarity of her things, and her scent. Picking up a bottle of her favourite perfume, he haphazardly sprayed it into the air, intensifying her smell in the room. Artfully arranged on an antique table by the window, were a myriad of photos. Some of Blair as a child, ones of her parents, and their spouses, Serena and her up to no good, but by and large there was Charlie. Chuck knew Blair had always liked family photos around, and throughout their marriage Blair had often set up photos in his office, just, as she'd put it, as a reminder to the gold diggers that there would be consequences for any of their actions. Chuck himself had only ever put up two pictures. One was of Charlie, and the other was of him and Blair their first summer together. They were on the beach, and the wind had caught her hair, blowing it around them both, and she looked into the camera smiling as she held it to take the picture. Chuck had been looking at her. He remembered thinking that he could never love her more then he did in that moment. He'd been wrong.

"Mr. Chuck?" Dorota questioned from the doorway. "You find nursery across hall. Only thing you find in here is trouble if Ms. Blair catches you."

Given that Chuck had his hand, wrist deep, in Blair's lingerie drawer, he could see that she had a point. Removing a pair of lace panties along with his hand from the drawer, Chuck smiled at Dorota.

"We wouldn't want that…" He commented, sliding by her as he tucked his ex-wife's delicates into his top breast pocket.

Chuck was just coming down the stairs when the elevator chimed signaling Blair's return.

"You're late…"

"I was delayed." Blair said evasively as she slipped off her raincoat and put her umbrella in the stand.

Chuck picked up his jacket and slipped it on, meeting her in front of the still open elevator door. She went to move to walk past him, but his arms slipped around her from behind, bringing her back flush against his front.

"For the Gala… Wear your hair up for me." He said and in an instant the hands that were lightly resting on her hips, tightened, pulling her closer and into intimate contact with most of his frame, and especially his lower anatomy. "I miss your nape."

His breath slipped over the skin of her neck, and merged into her hair, as if it had become a part of her. "I miss so many things…"

Blair's hands gripped his wrists and she couldn't decide whether to use that grip to push them away or pull them closer. With her eyes rolled to the back of her head, it was tough making any decisions. Finally, she ripped her mind away from his presence and a calculated smile came across her face.

"I don't know… My date might not like that. I really feel I should dress for him, and he's a leg man…"

Chuck froze, and then pulled away to spin her to face him.

"I'm sorry, I must be delusional. What did you just say?"

"I have a date." She said with a glimmer of triumph in her eyes. "Goodnight, Bass."

Having been dismissed Chuck faded back into the elevator, and the doors closed on their locked eyes. Chuck was dialing his phone before he'd reached the lobby.

TAhDAH! Okay, there was your new chapter. Hope you liked it! Now… For those of you who read my other stuff, you may know that I move. A lot. And I have breaks between moves where I crash with other people. This is one of those times. For the last two weeks of August, I'm floating around and crashing with friends. Since I only write on my own computer, this means that you shouldn't expect a new chapter till the beginning of September. I'll try to have one up within the first week. Thanks for understanding… which I'm sure you all do, right?


	11. Chapter 11

Hello! Thank you, thank you, thank you all, for being so patient with me! I am back with my own computer and good to go. I am going to TRY to keep to my two chapters a month plan, but with six courses this fall… I may get delayed. I would ask if anyone would volunteer to do my readings and write my papers for me… I know a little bird named Maryam that could probably tackle my Politics of the Middle East and Arab World… But that would be unethical. Here we go…

Blair checked her watch as she stepped out of the back of her town car, and glanced up at the driver who had held the door for her.

"Be back in 26 minutes, leave the engine running, and honk if you have to. I don't want this to last any longer than necessary."

Slipping her bag onto her elbow, Blair offered a tense smile of thanks to the doorman who held the door open for her to the upscale men's shop. Walking in she was immediately shown to the back where she found Adam standing on a fitting box in a half done suit, and with about a million fabric pins jutting into him.

Looking up he spotted her and smiled. "When I said meet for dinner, this isn't exactly what I had in mind."

Sitting on the formal sofa, she took the champagne that was offered to her and held it up to Adam. "We're having drinks. You want dinner with me, you have to earn it."

"Fair enough." Adam said confidently. "So? What do you think? Am I fit to offer Blair Waldorf my arm? Minus the pins, of course."

He held out his arms, and Blair hid her smile. "You'll do for tomorrow night, but you're on probation."

"That's all I ask." He teased. "Can we talk or are you just killing time until your alibi shows up and gives you an excuse to leave?"

Blair sat up a little straighter having been busted on her plan to make a quick escape, but she ignored the calling out and focused on the first part. "Is this the part where you ask me about myself?"

"I know plenty of things about you." Adam smiled and leaned in with a conspirator's grin. "I googled you."

Blair's face stayed blank. "Don't believe everything you read."

"Don't worry, I avoided the Page Six crap… But what's with that whole Gossip Girl thing?"

Blair got up and moved towards him. As he continued to babble about a few public facts of her life, she began to straighten the line of his jacket and adjust the collar. When he fell silent, she looked up at him and found his face closer than she had realized. Oh, god, she thought, he's going to kiss me.

Just then there was a long honk followed by a few quick successions of honking, startling them both and allowing Blair to take a much-needed step back. Adam's brow creased and he craned his head to get a look out the window.

"Who is that?"

"My driver. It must be important." She said quickly gathering her things from the couch and striding quickly towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow night."

The next night at the Gala, Blair was truly laughing as Adam swirled her around and around the dance floor. She had to give him that; he was an excellent dancer. As the music faded away, Blair pulled out of his arms breathlessly. He was about to speak when his phone went off in his pocket.

"Do you mind? I should take this."

"Not at all. Would you mind getting me a drink when you're done?"

Adam nodded, already answering his phone, and Blair turned to look about the ballroom.

With Adam gone, Blair could circulate a little more freely, and she ordained to say hello to a few randoms from just bellow her social circle, but bee lined for Serena and Lars only to find them lip locked through most of the conversation. Moving on, she settled in a raised alcove with an ornate high backed chair, where she could see everyone, and more importantly everyone could see her. From there, person after person came by to greet her and pay their respects, and none were of even remote interest to her until Nate came up and was the first person she greeted with genuine welcome since she got there. He kissed her cheek, as was habit, before coming to perch on the armrest by her side and look out over the multitude of gowns and tuxes that twirled by them around the dance floor.

"Sooo…" She began, not looking at him, but at the crowd. "What do you think of Adam?"

"He's not your type."

"Not my type?"

"With a guy like that you'll have to spend all your time pretending to be normal."

"Well, since I think your definition of normal pertains to mental health, I'll say I am normal."

"Blair, you are many things, but normal is not one of them. Chuck, Jack, Carter… your type is men who accept that you lean towards the dark side. You like Vader over Skywalker."

"If I had any idea what you were talking about, I just might be insulted."

Before he could respond, they were interrupted by her own personal Darth Vader.

"Blair…" Chuck greeted, joining them in the alcove without an invite.

Suddenly there was a commotion from the sweeping staircase, and Blair, Chuck, Nate, and the rest of the room turned towards it, as a laughing Serena was dragged halfway up the stairs by an exuberant Lars. Blair's eyes widened as she watched Lars drop to one knee.

"Serena Van der Woodsen… Will you marry me?"

Serena squealed, her hands covering her mouth as she giggled out a 'yes!'.

Looking at the engagement scene, Blair couldn't help the image of her own coming flooding back.

Flashback.

_Arriving home she had stalked through the foyer of their apartment, immediately heading upstairs, and ignoring the rattled doorman who jumped as her purse hit the wall, slammed off the table and onto the floor, but not before taking a chunk of the plaster with it._

_Chuck smiled indulgently as he tipped the man, and offered a smooth "It's been a long flight…" in explanation of his girlfriend's behaviour._

_Upstairs in their bedroom she'd practically ripped the earring from her ears and then stripped to shower and wash the grime from their first class, transcontinental, commercial flight from her skin. The indignity of not having access to any of the Bass jets, due to a workers strike, had been even more unbearable given her mood._

_She had been so sure, so sure he was going to propose on this trip. They'd gone to France to visit her father and Ramon for a couple of weeks, and her mother and Cyrus had joined them at Daddy's chateau for the last few days. It was a wonderful trip. It would have been the perfect time for Chuck to propose. She knew it, and she'd made damn sure that he knew it as well. And yet she'd returned to Manhattan with no ring on her finger._

_What was he waiting for? They'd been dating forever, living together for over a year, she had her own money, and she'd been doing exceptionally well in her advanced yoga classes. Oh, and then there was the little fact that she had no doubt that they were in love. He had no reason not to propose._

_As she finished dressing for the dinner he'd ordered in from the car, her mood got darker and her temperament got worse. By the time he walked out of his own closet, showered and changed, she was in a full-blown Blair-nado, and when he moved to kiss the side of her neck, she pulled angrily away and struck him in the arm._

"_Something wrong, lover?" Chuck asked with a hint of a smile as he sprawled across their bed to watch her rapidly pace the length of the room._

"_I hope you know that I am not the girl who is going to sit around and wait for you till the bloom is off this rose! I'm not a Carrie!" She said quickly, pausing momentarily to stomp her heeled foot, before pacing on._

"_I'm 26 and I am getting to the end of my starter husband years, and if you don't want to man up and marry this…" She pointed to the youthful perfection of her body. "I need to get back into the game and find a class act that will. If I don't get to it I'm going to end up with a twice divorced venture capitalist with a Corona belly!"_

"_I take it that this tirade stems from my noncompliance with your not so subtle demands for me to offer my hand in marriage?" He drawled._

"_We both know where this relationship is heading, I've already said that I'll agree to all your stipulations, so STOP PLAYING HARD TO GET!" She screeched._

_Chuck only mildly flinched at the pitch of her voice as he got up and moved towards her. He ran his hands down her arms as she caught her breath. "That you have… and maybe I will, but for tonight… dinner…"_

_Still mad, Blair let him take her arm and lead her downstairs to their formal dinning room. Her mind was already working on her next step at coercion and so she didn't notice the room for a moment. It was flooded with flowers and candlelight, but what was most interesting was that there were only one chair set at the table and for once it was completely bare… with the exception of a small, square, jeweler's box. Blair didn't even feel her feet move as Chuck guided her to sit down in front of the box. He picked it up off the table and knelt at her feet, and Blair looked at him with wide brown eyes that swam with a sheen of tears that she fought back. It would be tacky to cry at a moment like this._

"_You had to know I would want to do this on my own terms… Blair Waldorf, you are the love of my life. Would you please do me the honour of marrying me? Marry me." He'd half commanded._

_The answer was simple. It was the answer she wanted to give him. Yes._

End of flashback.

"Well, that wasn't entirely unexpected…" Chuck drawled from beside her as their eyes stayed on the current couple that were now making out on the handrail.

Not looking at him, Blair rushed forward to congratulate her best friend. Several minutes later, with that done, Blair felt the pressing need for some fresh air. Stepping out of the heated ballroom, Blair breathed a sigh of relief as she moved to the end of the deserted balcony. From this point she could see across the darkened park that was framed like a picture by the lights of the buildings that surrounded it. The wind ruffled a strand of her hair loose and it blew across her cheek. She was just about to lift her hand to brush it back into place, when another beat her to it. She didn't have to turn her head. The way her skin tingled and sent a bold of heat down her body, told her who it was.

"I know what you were thinking… I know, because I was remembering it too… You were beautiful that night."

"I was an idiot who thought that you loved me." She said in an empty voice and kept her gaze trained on the park.

"You weren't an idiot…" He said, his eyes burrowing into her profile.

"I married for love the first time. I won't be fool enough to do that again."

"You will… when we re-marry." He said confidently moving close enough to feel the heat coming off her body. "And don't pretend like you don't know it will happen."

"I will never marry you again." Blair vowed in a hiss turning to him. "But I will marry again. I won't allow losing yo— what happened between us, to be the defying moment in my life. I will move on."

Even as she finished the words, she knew she didn't want to, but had to. They looked at each other with torment in their eyes. War was a messy business.

"Blair?" Adam's voice called from the French doors. "Are you out there?"

Blair shut her eyes for a heartbeat before putting on her brightest voice. "Yes! I'm coming!"

She left Chuck alone on the balcony. She didn't look back.

TahDAH!! Okay, this chapter was a bit tough for me to finish because I've been on a One Tree Hill kick and had Naley in my head. I didn't want Chair to come out sounding like my other favourite couple. Luckily I have both seasons on DVD and was able to channel my GG love. Hopefully, you heard the right people in my writing.

There was something else I wanted to tell you… but my mind is a blank. Oops. I'll give you this warning instead. Watch out for rain showers. I'm not talking about the act of nature, I'm talking about the shower heads. They are awful. First they lack any kind of water pressure, second, you can drown when you put your head back to rinse your hair, and third, you can't not wash your hair… unless you're bent over with your butt under the water and your head craned away. Rain showers suck. End of rant.

PS- Okay, so in my further defense I had this finished like yesterday or so, but fanfiction wouldn't let me upload it. Sooooo… It's more their fault than mine. Kind of.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello! Sooooooo? What did you all think of the premier? I liked it. I missed Blair Waldorf. I loved her dress at the polo match. I've never had occasion to wear a dress like that, and I don't think it would look as nice with my colouring, but a girl can dream. Did you all see Ed Westwick's tattoos? Chuck will be covered from neck down for the rest of the series. And what is with guys tattooing boobs on their bodies? You never see a girl walking down the street with a penis on her arm, but guys will have a naked pinup right down their bicep. I could make a feminist comment, but I'll keep it to myself. Here we go…

Blair lay across the chaise scanning her text messages. She smiled seeing there were six from Adam. She had to admit he made her feel special. Wanted. And over the past several weeks it had been easy to be with him. Easy being the key word. Her eyes fell on her other frequent texter, and she knew that their relationship, at most points, was anything but. He had always challenged her, seen her for who she was, and pushed her in ways nobody else ever had. He'd also pushed her away, and that was a fact she reminder herself of daily.

She glanced up as she heard the ping of the elevator, and Serena came bouncing into the living room.

"B!"

"S!"

Blair got up and rushed to her friend, giddy with seeing her after she'd been gone on a month long honeymoon to Asia. After a tight hug, Blair pulled back to inspect her friend's halter dressed body.

"No tan lines?" Blair said dryly with a raised brow.

Serena rolled her eyes, and tugged a lock of Blair's hair. "Not any I want to talk about, Mom."

Laughing, Blair caught hold of her friend's hands and pulled them both down onto a lounge.

"How was it? I want to hear EVERYTHING!"

"It was wonderful… amazing! You know how much I love honeymoons."

"I'll say… third times the charm." Blair said, mocking her friend for her third trek down the aisle. "You know, some people just go on vacation. It skips the aggravation of him catching you with your yoga instructor, and the cost of a messy divorce."

Ignoring Blair's comment, no matter how true it might be, Serena decided to go with the best method of distraction with Blair. Turning the topic of conversation onto her.

"How was heading back to work and away from Young Master Bass?" Serena asked, smiling at Dorota as she brought a tray of fruit in.

"Given that I have the apartment jacked with cameras it was surprisingly easy… You'd be shocked at how many times people pick their noses when they think nobody can see them. It's disgusting. I've gone through three florists this week. What are they thinking? They touch manure!"

Serena rolled her eyes, but straightened her posture a little, realizing that she was most likely being nanny camed at that very moment.

"So work was good?"

"Yes… my assistant looked so… well rested." Blair sneered, thinking about how she'd had to crush the girl back into line in a few short hours. "I took care of that. She's back to 2 sessions a week with her therapist."

"I knew you could do it." Serena said, rolling her eyes. "Now, tell me about Adam!"

Blair sighed, and ran down a list of things they'd done over the past couple of weeks. Dinners around town. The opera. Ballet… It was like a life she dreamed about when she was a little girl. Her Prince Charming.

"Well, B, he sounds great… Is he Mr. Perfect… everywhere?" Serena asked with a sly smile. It never ceased to amaze Serena that people thought she was the wild one… okay, in many ways she was, but when it came to sex… Blair could go kinky. Serena hadn't felt comfortable in the back of Chuck's limo in over a decade. It was like their second bedroom.

"Hmmm…" Blair said noncommittally.

"Blair!"

"What?!" Blair snapped, grabbing a grape and eating it quickly.

"You haven't slept with him yet! Don't tell me you got another eunuch? B… I'm going to have to pick the next one for you."

Blair examined her nails. "Maybe it's not him who wants to wait…"

"What?"

"I am a mother! I have responsibilities to more than just my carnal urges!" Blair protested just a tad too much.

"Uh, huh." Serena sighed. "Or maybe this has less to do with Adam, and more to do with Ch—"

"Charlie!" Blair cut her off; deliberately switching out the name her friend was about to say. "Exactly. I have Charlie to think of."

Seeing Serena was about to argue, Blair snatched a strawberry off the tray and half slammed it into Serena's mouth. "Enjoy!"

Serena watched her carefully as she chewed the berry.

"Besides," Blair said taking advantage of her friend's forced silence. "He hasn't even met Charlie."

Serena held her thoughts, partly because she had a feeling a large slice of mellon would be shoved at her, and partly because she knew she had to bide her time with this. Something was off.

In another part of town, two other best friends sat across from each other. After hearing about a few of Nate's newest conquests, and catching up on some of Chuck's latest business, the two friends leaned back in their chairs, each with a glass of port.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Nate commented only half suspicious. "It couldn't be that Blair's taken you back, she has a mandatory groveling period… and after what you did? I'd say you've got at least 15 months and a few choice pieces of jewelry to go…"

"Chuck Bass doesn't grovel…" Chuck said swirling the liquid around in his glass with a grin.

"No. He plots, which is worse." Nate smiled. "Should I start building my own fallout shelter?"

"Nathaniel, you wound me." Chuck smiled.

"I know you." Nate corrected. "You want Blair back, and you've been to quiet… What are you up to?"

"Mr. Bass… Your 11 o'clock is here." Chuck's secretary interrupted from the doorway.

Chuck snickered at being off the hook from a response for the moment.

"I can go…" Nate offered, beginning to lift himself out of the chair.

"No need. This one should be left to stew a little." Chuck waved Nate back into his seat before responding to his secretary. "Show him into the small conference room. He can wait there."

Glancing up at Nate a smile crossed his face. "Now… what do we feel like for lunch…"

Over an hour later, Chuck sat back in his desk chair as his assistant cleared away the debris from his lunch with Nate. With Nate gone, he glanced at the clock again.

"You can bring him in now…" Chuck said, sliding lower in his chair, his ankle crossed at his knee, and one finger propping up his head as he kept his gaze trained on the door. He knew exactly what kind of image he projected. His clothes, his office, his building; he was the King and they were playing in his castle. Unsurprisingly his guest was a rattled mess when he stumbled into the room.

"I can't do this anymore!" He burst out, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

"This ought to be good…" Chuck said rolling his eyes.

"I love her!" He declared adamantly.

"Of course you do…" Chuck drawled, not buying it for a second. It took a certain type of man to truly love a woman like Blair… and this man, who was now letting out a sting of curses, was not it.

"A man with your lack of skill in gambling should really think twice about the tone you use with your employer…"

"You're not my employer." He growled under his breath.

Chuck inspected the rim of his liqueur glass with a smile. "I can smell desperation… I found you at the bottom of a rather unsavory barrel… I paid off your debts and buried all evidence of them, so your daddy never needs to find out… That means I own you… So when I say that you will break my wife's heart… that is exactly what you'll do."

Adam looked at the cold man sitting at the top of the world with very nearly everything he wanted within his grasp, and far too late Adam realized he'd made a deal with the devil.

TaHDAH! Surprise! Adam is on Chuck's payroll, so to speak! I was actually surprised none of you said anything. Usually when I have a plot twist coming, there's always some smarty-pants who guesses it in the reviews, and says it there. Love reviews, hate people guessing in them. Or at least, hate it when they guess right. PM me if you want to guess. If you saw it coming, good on you! If not, I hope you liked the surprise. There are more twists and turns coming. This is a Chair fic after all!

Now, I have hidden away writing this all afternoon instead of doing a tone of my readings, which is what should have been my focus. I shall go and be responsible now. Sigh.


	13. Chapter 13

Hello, everyone! Frak. I adore Blair Waldorf. She stole his shoes. (I know that was like 2 episodes ago… but I wrote that before I'd written the chapter… so you'll forgive me right?) Incase I've never said it… when I picture Adam, I picture Jackson Rathbone. I don't know why. I've only seen Twilight once, but that's how I picture him… but not so weird and pasty. Oh, and to everyone that hates when I add flashbacks… sorry you can't skip it. It's useful information on the story I'm imparting this time. I promise! Here we go…

Blair sat at the table, the end of her pen tapping so rapidly on the table Dorota poked her head into the room to frown at the damage it might be doing to the finish. Blair scowled right back and waved her away. She was stressed. She was a bride and all brides were stressed, especially when they weren't sure how they'd gotten to the morning of their wedding. Staring blankly at her checklist for the day she thought back to the time two weeks ago that had sent her down this path. It had started out as a day to remember, what with it being Charlie's christening, and she had been enjoying rubbing two things in Chuck's face; Adam as her date for the event, and going around Chuck and making Dan his godfather. She'd had the day planned to the heartbeat, but by the end that was shot to hell.

_Flashback_

"_It was perfect!" Blair squealed, grabbing Serena's arm and pulling her into the elevator._

"_It was a beautiful ceremony." Serena smiled._

"_Forget the ceremony. Did you see the look on Chuck's face when the minister called Dan up to stand as godfather?! I haven't see him looked that shocked since the whatever."_

"_Good to see you're taking the highroad, B…" _

_Blair rolled her eyes at her friend as the elevator doors opened to her apartment, and she walked out with a decided skip in her step. Serena followed, and couldn't help but be impressed by the flowers that adorned the home for the party. She had to give it to Blair; she did perfect better then anyone else. _

_The apartment was soon flooded with friends and family. Eleanor, Cyrus, and Harold held court on a sofa passing around Young Master Bass between them, as Ramon took pictures. Jenny and Eric sat at the piano, commenting on the room. Lily and Rufus made Dan and Serena promise that sharing a godchild would be the closest they ever came to sharing a child. Nate slipped into Blair's office with a part-time actress/part-time cater-waiter. Blair and Adam mingled with their guests, her arm never leaving his when they were in sight of the father of the guest of honour, who slouched in a chair nursing a scotch._

_As the party drew to its height, Cyrus declared the need for music, and before Blair could shut them down; all her parents were not only dancing, but also encouraging other couples to hit the makeshift floor to, as Cyrus called it "the magic of Buble." _

_Straightening his tie as he re-entered the party, Nate came up short as he saw that the rather boring family gathering had turned into something of a rager… a rather elderly rager, but a rager none the less. Spotting Serena leaning against a pillar and nursing a glass of wine, he slid up beside her._

"_Has Dance, Dance, Revolution been Blair approved?" He grinned. _

"_Judging by the way she just downed her glass of Dom… Probably not." They both laughed a little harder as they caught Blair snagging yet another glass from a passing waiter._

"_Heartbroken over not making it to godparent status?" Serena asked as she saw Jenny pull Dan out onto the cleared living room floor._

"_Hmm… I had a feeling I shouldn't hold my breath. Spite trumps sentiment with Blair every time." Nate commented wryly, nudging her arm and pointing to Rufus and Lily now slow dancing to the beat._

_They both smiled watching the floor, and Nate's looked over again to see Blair's reaction, and laughed harder. Serena sobered as she in turn looked at Chuck. Following her gaze, Nate looked at his friend who sat off to the side with his sleeping son in his arms. Chuck didn't look at the dancers. As always he had eyes only for one._

"_Do you think Adam knows Chuck will always be in her life?" Nate asked her, the only other person that knew the former couple so well._

"_Because of Charlie?"_

"_No. Because they're a package deal. They're Blair and Chuck, Chuck and Blair. I learned a long time ago, that those two were bonded… before Charlie, before marriage, hell, before they were Chuck and Blair. I've known them since we were preschool… and they've been locked onto each other since day one."_

"_I don't think this thing with Adam is that serious." _

"_For all their sakes, I hope you're right." Nate shook his head. "Enough of the serious talk. Care to dance?"_

_Serena gave him that infectious smile of hers and took his offered hand. "I'd love to… because after Blair finds out what you did with that cater-waiter in her office… you might not be dancing for a while…"_

_Blair stood off to the side, her brow creased in disbelief. If she didn't love them so much, she would have had security see them out of the building. Roughly. Just then her father broke away from Ramon, who was soon dancing with Dorota, and pulled Blair's resisting self into a dance. She gave up fighting him and let him twirl her around the room, like he had when she was seven, the second he smiled with "Dance with me Blair-bear."_

_She was so busy laughing, she missed the anxious look Adam threw across the room to Chuck, and she sure as hell missed the calculated nod her ex sent back. As the song came to an end, she was still breathless as Adam pulled her away from her father and before she knew it he was down on one knee, proposing in front of everyone. If they had been alone she could have shot his proposal down with ease, it was too soon, and the small fact that while she told herself she had feelings for Adam, she wasn't sure they warranted this kind of commitment. But then, in a fraction of an instant, against her will her gaze slid to Chuck. With him it was the opposite; she felt too much. Anger, rage, and something else that she didn't want to think about. So then, with a smile on her face, she answered Adam._

"_Yes!" _

_She wouldn't acknowledge, even to herself, that the joy she felt in that moment came, not from the engagement, but solely from seeing the instant of agony that flashed in Chuck's eyes._

_End of Flashback_

"Earth to Blair?"

Blair's head snapped up as she finally heard Serena talking to her.

"Sorry?"

"We have to start getting you ready…" Serena said, growing concerned about her friend.

"Right!" Blair over smiled. "Let's go!"

The rest of the day passed in a flurry, and before she knew it Blair stood in front of her full-length mirror, appraising herself and her dress.

"I do make a beautiful bride…" Blair drawled before taking a long sip from her martini.

Just then she heard a commotion in the hall, and she walked to the door in time to catch Adam's voice and Dorota telling him it was bad luck to see the bride before the wedding.

"I need to see her! It's important!"

"It's all right, Dorota." Blair said, wearily looking at Adam.

Adam was brought up short at the sight of Blair, and they both ignored the angry stream of Polish Dorota let out as she headed down the hall to get herself ready. Following Blair into the room, Adam started nervously pacing. Blair coolly finished her drink and poured herself another, before offering one to Adam. He shook his head and she took a seat in the high-backed chair in the corner. Blair said nothing. She waited.

"I can't do this!" He burst out.

"Excuse me?" Her eyes narrowed. "Our guests are arriving at the Frick. The wedding is in a couple of hours. Don't think for a moment that I'll be as tactful as a Carrie… Leave me at the alter and I'll make it hurt."

Adam flinched at the threat, but soldiered on. "That's just it! I don't want to leave you. Blair, I love you!"

"Good to know." Blair said, not giving an inch.

"There are things about me you don't know… there are things I need to tell you." Adam managed before letting his confession out. "A few months ago, before I knew you, I had some trouble… gambling trouble. I'd dug myself this whole… I couldn't go to my father, especially since I was finally gaining ground at work and his respect. I figured I could pay it off, and no one would have to know… but then… they wouldn't take my payment plan. They told me my ticket had come due. I thought I was done. I thought they were going to tell my firm… Kill me… Or worse, tell my dad. I didn't know what to do… I was sitting in a bar, killing off the better half of my liver… when I was approached."

Adam paused, looking at her for a second before going on quickly. "I didn't want to take his money, but I didn't know what else to do… and what he wanted me to do seemed so easy... It was before I knew you. Before I loved you! Once I did, I tried to tell him the deal was off… but he wouldn't let it go!"

"Chuck." Blair bit out quietly, not really needing confirmation.

"Yes! He wanted me to leave you at the altar today! But I can't do it. I won't do it!" Adam said adamantly.

Blair didn't move. She hadn't since his diatribe had started, and she stared vacantly ahead of her. Coming to kneel in front of her, Adam took her hand.

"I want to be your husband, Blair. I love you, and I wanted to start our life together honestly. So I came here to tell you… and now I'm going to the wedding. The past doesn't matter. Chuck doesn't matter. We're what matters… I'll be waiting for you at the end of the aisle like I promised."

Standing he moved closer to her and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"I'll see you at the ceremony." He vowed.

Blair sat where she was, looking and feeling like a Queen made out of ice.

Two hours later, two men waited for one woman. One stood in front of their friends and family, waiting for the woman he loved, so he could commit himself to her. The other sat alone staring out over the city he practically owned, drinking heavily to curb the churning in his gut as waited to hear if this phase of his gamble had paid off.

As the minutes ticked by, both men waited.

TahDah!

Okay, incase anyone was wondering, the Frick is this beautiful museum in Manhattan. There's this indoor courtyard that I could have sat in for hours. I set the wedding there. I have to admit I'm not fancy by any stretch of the imagination and usually end up anywhere but the posh areas… But this place was beautiful.

Side note- To all my fellow Canadians… HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!


	14. Chapter 14

I'm almost scared to say hello, but since I'm sure you all are a forgiving lot, I'm positive you'll accept my sheepish hello. Sooooo… It's been awhile… How have you been? You look great! Hopefully I didn't lose too many of you, because I really appreciate you all reading my story. Life has been crazy, and I'd like to say it was because Leonardo DiCaprio has been stalking me, and I've been on a secret mission for the Canadian government in our Artic region… I may have said too much… Seriously, it's been lame things like school, and my birthday that have kept me from writing a new chapter. MANY apologies! My class was cancelled today, so here I am, writing away! So, I heard Apologize by One Republic or Ain't No Love by David Gray in my head, as I wrote the beginning of this chapter, but feel free to set your own soundtrack. Here we go…

Chuck's head rolled away from the skyline as the light in the room automatically clicked on, and turned the widow into a mirror of the room. He stared now at the drink in his hand. He rolled the bottom in lazy pattern against the leather armrest of his chair, leaving a perfect circle of condensation.

"You'll ruin the leather."

Chuck didn't move a muscle for several long moments. Finally, he looked up to the glass and saw her reflection standing in the doorway in her wedding gown. Pulling himself up, he lazily walked to the centre of the room, and she met him half way. The former spouses faced off against each other, but Chuck was at a disadvantage because for once he couldn't read her eyes. Maybe is was the booze he thought, as finished his drink and set the glass aside. He had just turned back to face her when she slapped him hard and fast against his cheek.

His head shot to the side and he kept it down as he drawled. "I take it congratulations aren't in order…"

When she said nothing, he lifted his head to look at her, and caught her hand a millisecond before it hit his cheek again.

"That's enough of that…" He said, holding her wrist tight in his hand as she tried to tug it away.

Turning it over, he kissed her empty ring finger, looking deep into her eyes. He saw the shimmer of angry tears, but remained unmoved.

"I hate you." She bit out.

A travesty of a smile came to his lips, and he finally let her pull her hand free of his. He nodded to the couch, and then went and refilled his glass, pouring one for her as well. She folded herself onto a high-backed chair instead, her gown spreading out around her, giving Chuck the fleeting thought that she looked like an archangel come down to finish him once and for all. Handing her the glass he cringed… He really needed to stop drinking. He was becoming maudlin.

"Sooo… I'm guessing Prince Charming picked option three… I didn't think he had it in him… But let me guess… he was banking on his 'love' for you being enough… That just proves how little he knows you. I would have married you, locked you in, and let the chips fall…" He mused, lying down on the couch to watch her.

"He's not you."

"Oddly enough, that's probably why you didn't marry him…"

"Shut up." She shot hotly.

Her hand tightened on the glass, and for a second he thought she was going to throw it at him, but instead she lifted it to her perfectly red lips and downed it in two long sips. The silence dragged in the dimly lit room.

"I did what I had to do." He said harshly when he couldn't stand the quiet anymore.

"Oh, really? Like what you did when you left me?"

"Let's not pretend you were an innocent party in that."

"Excuse me?" Her voice kicked up a notch.

"Charlie was no accident, and let's not insult each other's intelligence by pretending he was."

"You love him!" She said as an accusation.

"I do." He freely admitted. "But before him, I loved you, above everything else, I loved you…"

Blair was brought up short, and had to look away from the intensity of his eyes. "I know." She said quietly. "That's why I was so sure… but then you…"

"Walked away?"

"More like ran. It was spiteful." She snapped. "You just hate to lose…"

He sat up sharply, his hands on his knees, and she shot back in her chair, her head pressed against the back. "It wasn't a game. For someone who knows me so well, I would have thought you would have figured that out by now…"

"I was terrified." He hissed. "I knew how much my father loved my mother, and I know I love you more… The idea of losing you… of what I would become without you… I was never willing to risk that… not for anything, and not for a child…"

Blair looked at him for a minute, and then rolled her eyes. "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard."

"What?" Chuck asked, unsure why he was surprised that his confession hadn't garnered her sympathy.

"Women have babies every day, Chuck. We didn't get to 9 billion people through defective breeding." She derided.

"We had a deal."

"Cry, cry, cry." She muttered. "Maybe I could have handled things differently… But I can't regret Charlie. And if you try telling me he wasn't worth it, I won't believe you. It's funny how it turned out… I wanted us to have a family, and you didn't want to lose me, but now… We don't have anything…"

"I will always have you."

"No." She said tightly. "What you did with Adam… it's unforgivable…"

"Nothing between us is unforgivable."

"This is." She stood up. "Goodbye, Chuck."

"Goodnight, Blair…" He watched her walk out, and he finished his drink.

By the end of the next week Chuck had watched the fallout of Blair leaving Adam waiting at the alter play out in the gossip pages. He credited Blair personally for her coming out smelling like a rose through the whole thing. Adam not so much.

Chuck was just going over some papers when his assistant called him.

"Mr. Bass, there seems to be a situation in the lobby. Mr. Drakewood is being detained by security."

Chuck raised a brow. This might be mildly interesting. "Send him up."

Minutes later, Adam stormed into Chuck's office.

"You can't do this to me, Bass!"

"First of all, I wouldn't question exactly what I could do to you, if I were you. Secondly… what am I supposed to have done…" He asked detachedly.

"Your plan didn't turn out the way you anticipated it and now you're ruining my life." Adam gritted. "I was up for Junior Partner, now suddenly I'm being encouraged to take a leave of absence. My co-op board voted to have me evicted. I've been taken off every list in the city. The police impounded my bike for being chained to a light post. And the groomer lost my dog."

Adam's eyes flashed when Chuck started chuckling.

"You think this is funny?"

"You have to giver her credit…" Chuck mused with a smile. "She's nothing if not thorough… I wonder what she did with your dog…"

"What are you talking about?"

"I think you're forgetting what happens to a woman scorned…"

"Blair would not do this!" Adam snapped.

Chuck smiled knowingly. "Really…"

"No, she wouldn't." Adam defended again, but Chuck could hear the note of uncertainty in his voice, and relished it. "The one thing that makes this even remotely palatable, is that she'll never let you back in. I may have lost her because of this, but so have you!"

A twinkle entered Chuck's eyes as the looked across his desk at Adam. "I wouldn't be so sure of that… I'll admit… this one might leave a mark, but… Blair and I have been playing this game for a long time… Neither one of us is ready to concede."

Chuck smiled to himself, looking forward to the match ahead. Straightening his tie, he looked at his computer, dismissing Adam without a glance. "You're collateral damage. Feel free to fade away."

Chuck didn't even look up when he left.

Blair unconsciously cracked her knuckles as she went over the deposition for the 17th time. She was lead chair, and she was going to win. She was on a roll lately, after all. Taking a break she snatched up her phone, and called Serena.

"What are you doing tonight?"

"Blair…"

"Come on! I need this!"

"I can't tonight, Blair. I promised Lars we'd sit down and really talk."

"I sense I'll be handing yet another divorce for you in the near future…"

"We don't know that… at least not yet."

"Fine." Blair paused, scanning through her agenda. "How about this weekend. Let's go to the Hamptons. Chuck has Charlie until Sunday. Dan asked to take him to some fair in Brooklyn that afternoon, so we'll have the whole weekend… I'll be your best friend." Blair cajoled.

"Fine." Serena smiled.

"Perfect!" Blair chirped, touching it into her agenda. She glanced up then, and saw Adam standing in the doorway. "I have to go."

Blair hung up the phone and straightened in her seat.

"Was it you?"

"Was what me?" Blair asked innocently.

"Everything."

"Hmm?" She smiled chipperly at him. "While I have to say for the record, I have no idea what you're talking about…" Her voice went cold. "You shouldn't play with people who own the game."

Adam was brought up short by the ice in her tone. "Are you serious?"

The cat's smile didn't leave her face as she blinked twice at him.

Adam started to lose it. "You… Him… This isn't a game! This is my life!"

"You didn't seem to have a problem when the game involved my life." She reminded him.

"You two are sick." Adam stammered.

Blair ignored his comment, having been called far worse and by better. She started flipping through her phone. "Like I said… don't kick the ball if you don't want someone to kick it back… But our game is done… You can go now." She dismissed.

Blair didn't look up when he left.

TahDAH! Okay, there is the chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it! I must now finish three papers. Blah. I vowed I was going to really apply myself this semester and bring myself up at least a letter grade… Whatever. I like Bs. They're nice. Oh, and on a Chair note… I have TWO wishes for the next couple of episodes. One, they still do Blair's birthday like they have in past seasons. I always wish he'd send her flowers the day before her birthday as a special anniversary gift. It seems like it would be a Chuck thing to do. I may have to write a one shot. Two, I want Chuck to have a good Thanksgiving. One thrown by Blair; Waldorf style.


	15. Chapter 15

Hello! I love crazy Blair. Crazy Blair was in full affect last week and I loved it. The INS line KILLED me. As for this chapter… Guess what?? Yep. A flashback!! I also want to say to those who are interested; I'm probably going to be doing a line of one shots. I have the one already posted, and I'll be changing it to post my GG one shots as a series. It will still be called I Will Show You Love, because I love that song by Kendall Payne, and think it really fits Chuck and Blair. OH! And how much does it suck that after this week, GG is off till MARCH? That TOTALLY sucks! Anyhoo… here we go…

Blair lay out on a lounger looking over the pool. Her sunglasses were down as she admired the perfect pedicure she'd gotten this morning. Taking a deep breath, she tried to let out all the tension from her body, and this wasn't easy, given that she usually embraced her highly strung nature, and that Serena had just gotten a call from Lars and was in the midst of an argument she'd moved to the far side of the lawn. Practically alone and in a place where she's spent so many summers as a child, it was easy to let her mind wonder back, and as annoying as it was, that usually meant she was thinking of Chuck.

_Flashback_

_Blair was curled into herself on the lounger by the pool, her stomach cramping from the whole cheesecake that had gone quickly in and then out of it less that an hour ago. It was a hot day, but she was clammy so she'd wrapped herself in a soft toweling robe._

_Pressing her face into the towel draped over the back of the chair, she stared at the play of sunlight on the pool. Sunshine sucked, she thought mutinously. It was the middle of the worst summer of her life. Her daddy had fled to Paris, her mother was in hiding recovering from an eye lift, Serena had fled to boarding school, and Nate… well, Nate had just fled period._

_Alone wasn't really her thing; it brought out self-reflection, and who the hell needed that? It was all a moot point; given that none of the people she loved most had allowed her much say in the matter. She was alone._

_"I hear it's easier to tan if you actually let the sun hit your skin… or is the rumour right that you'll burst into flames in the sun… Oh, wait… I think it's melt if you get wet…"_

_Blair snapped up in the lounger just as Chuck Bass slid into the one next to hers. She glared at him for a moment as she righted herself into a more sedate pose, and briefly wondered if the towel had left a crease pattern on her face._

_"What do you want, Bass?" She asked coolly, pulling the sunglasses off the crown of her head to cover her eyes. The Mother Chucker could look a little to deeply into her eyes at times, and she was not up to it today._

_"The Hamptons seem to have cleared out this week… nothing left but townies… and you. Nate told me he'd be out on the boat with the Captain all day, and I thought you and I could entertain ourselves…"_

_"I suggest you re-introduce yourself to your right hand."_

_"Easy, kitten." Chuck smiled at her. "I was thinking more along the lines of lunch… and for future reference, I'm partial to my left…"_

_Blair gave a slightly unladylike grunt as she rolled her eyes._

_"Someone's bitter… I take it Nate didn't extend an invite?"_

_"He knows I hate sailing." She muttered defensively._

_"Ah, yes… The open water… the unpredictability of the wind and waves… the lack of control you have in the situation… you really should try letting go a bit more…" Chuck neatly taunted._

_"I'll pass, thank you." She scowled. "And as if you don't go because you hate the wind messing your hair."_

_Chuck held his hands out with a sly smile. "I have a look… Plus I could lose my scarf… think of the tragedy…"_

_Blair couldn't help but smile. Damn him, the boy could charm her out of a mood…_

_"So… Lunch?"_

_"I'm not hungry." Blair declined, but her traitorous stomach emitting a loud grumble ruined it._

_Chuck merely raised a brow while not taking his eyes from her._

_"I'm not going out." Blair reiterated with a sigh._

_Chuck paused, as if contemplating her words, and then rolled his eyes, letting his head fall back on the lounger as he commented on one of her more recent scandals._

_"So, your dad's gay… who cares…" He drawled._

_"Couldn't he have been gay in New York? He didn't have to move to Paris." She snapped quickly._

_"If I've ever seen a father dote on a daughter, it's Harold on you." He sized her up again, before leaning in slightly, and speaking softly, almost sincerely. "He loves you… Paris isn't Afghanistan. You could fly over for a visit…"_

_"It would kill my mother… Correction, my mother would kill me. Besides he's the one that left, he should be the one to work for it." She shrugged it off, for some reason getting slightly nervous around a sincere Chuck._

_Snatching up an InStyle she started scanning through it, trying to ignore him. Chuck wasn't one to be ignored._

_"What does Serena have to say…"_

_"It's hard to get an opinion when they don't call." Blair commented and nearly tore the magazine as she flipped a page._

_"Hmmm… Once again, you could call her."_

_"And you could mind your own business! But, since you brought it up, calling her would involve backing down. And I don't know if you've heard, but that's not my strong point." She pointed out before snapping. "And besides, she's the one that took off, she's the one who should call me!"_

_Chuck flinched at the pitch of her voice. Just then they were interrupted by Dorota approaching._

_"Miss Blair… you say you want me to tell you when pie is ready…" Dorota said hesitantly._

_"Thank you, Dorota!" Blair waved her away and once again avoided Chuck's eye contact._

_Slamming her magazine closed she swung her legs over the side. "Let me change. Oh, and we're not going anywhere where we'll end up on 'Spotted'."_

_Chuck smiled with a little nod as he folded his hands across his chest, signaling he would be waiting for her. Chuck never seemed to have a problem waiting for her._

_End of flashback._

Chuck sat at his desk in his home office, if his hands weren't busy holding Charlie upright as he sat on his desk, he would have been able to stop his son from shoving his very expensive tie into his mouth and ruining the silk.

"That's coming out of your inheritance…" Chuck chided with a smile.

At his father's voice Charlie looked up at Chuck. Chuck smiled and leaned in, smelling his son's hair, and gently kissing his head. Hearing a throat clear, Chuck looked up to see his butler standing in the doorway.

"Sir, Mr. Humphrey is here."

Chuck nodded, his smile turning quickly to a frown, and he looked intensely at Charlie.

"It won't be much longer." He promised. "Your mother may be the most stubborn woman on the planet, but I'm probably the most stubborn man… We'll be a family again soon."

Minutes later he walked into the foyer where Dan was waiting.

"Humphrey." Chuck greeted coolly.

Dan nodded, slightly thrown off by Charlie… or to be more precise, Charlie's outfit. It was silk. It was purple. It had a matching cap and cape. And it probably cost more that Dan's loft.

"What?" Chuck scowled.

"Nothing." Dan quickly said, reminding himself he shouldn't be surprised about any outfit a Bass or Waldorf wore, let alone a Waldorf-Bass.

Taking Charlie from his father, and the stroller and a diaper bag from a maid, Dan made a break for the elevator, and ended up wishing he'd missed the look of pain he saw on Chuck's face as he left with his son. Dan was still thinking about it when he exited the building and hit the sidewalk, however he put it behind him on the subway to Brooklyn, and awkwardly smiled at people who pointed at the baby in the cape. He wished he could tell them the look was ironic. Coming up out of the station, he spotted Vanessa and waved. Dan raised a brow at the conspirator's smile she wore.

"What?"

She held up a bag and nodded towards Charlie. "Old Navy." She smiled. "Sales rack."

"Brilliant." Dan laughed already pulling the cap off the baby.

An hour later they were pushing through the crowd at the fair, talking and laughing at different things they saw. Charlie, less than impressed, had fallen asleep. Grabbing Dan's arm, Vanessa dragged him towards a giant cutout stand of an Endless Nights poster, where you put your head in the holes and the picture looks like you're the characters.

"How much?" Vanessa asked the guy manning the booth.

"10 bucks."

"We're doing it!" Vanessa laughed.

"Didn't we already 'do it' with her already?" Dan joked, referring to the movie's star.

"Shut up, and let's go!" Vanessa said as she headed behind the cut out.

When Dan tried to follow he was stopped by the fact that the stroller didn't fit behind the board. He frowned and peeked under the hood, figuring if Charlie was awake he could take him out and carry him back there, but no such luck.

"Come on!" Vanessa yelled.

And after a quick look around, Dan put the hood back down and headed behind the cutout. Vanessa was waiting and they spent a second messing each other's hair before putting their faces through the holes for the picture. They came around laughing and Dan paid the man as Vanessa went to the stroller. She had just started to push it when she froze.

"What's wrong?" Dan asked, coming over to her.

"I really hope I'm wrong or that Charlie lost weight in the last three minutes…"

For a second Dan didn't know what she was talking about, but with dread he threw back the hood of the stroller. Charlie was gone.

TahDaH! I know, I know, there are probably more than a few of you saying this twist was lame and predictable. To those of you who REALLY want to tell me… I'll remind you I work for free. Be gentle. Side note…two things… Remember back last season when Blair and Serena were bickering, and Chuck came up and was like "Kittens, please…", and prior to that the whispered "what names does he call you when you're making love…" and the couple of references he's made to her purring or scratches on his back. I'm saying that Chuck's pet name for Blair is Kitten. Okay, maybe it's only in my head… but I like it!


	16. Chapter 16

Howdy! Did everybody have a nice holiday season? A happy New Year? I got a bottle of expensive conditioner that popped in my bag, and now I'll have split ends around mid February. The horror. I feel that I should send a special shoutout to a resourceful reader who came up with the idea of posting a review for my other chaptered fic with something along the lines of "This is good, but update Checkmate next, please." Very creative and it seems to have worked, so hats off to Cherry. Here we go…

The back of Dan's head once again slammed off the elevator panel it rested against, making Vanessa and the police officers riding up with him cringe. Dan was not in an enviable position. He'd lost Chuck Bass' only child, the heir to a large fortune, and one of the two things Bass would consider most valuable in his life. This was not going to be pretty. Dan and Vanessa had called the police and Chuck from the fair grounds, and while the police were combing the grounds and the surrounding neighbourhood, Chuck's apartment had been set up as master control. The police were following all legitimate routes, and Dan was sure Chuck was also utilizing all illegitimate methods as well. After giving their statements to the police, they'd been taken in a squad car directly to Chuck's.

"So he didn't say anything?" Vanessa asked for the millionth time.

"No." Dan repeated again.

"Seriously, nothing?"

"Nope." Dan said, pulling at his collar.

"You must be freaking out…"

"Vanessa!"

"Okay! Sorry! But, come on… I'm gonna miss visiting your grave, because you know he'll see to it the body is never found…" Vanessa mused. "Then again, it might be better he kills you before Blair gets her hands on you…"

Blair. Dan doubled over and put his head between his knees. He'd tried to call her, but there was no reception on the helicopter. She'd get his messages when she landed, and then probably find him, looking for blood. Dan suddenly wished the elevator would plummet to the basement.

"You should try breathing. Not breathing makes you look more guilty."

"I'm going to have to give him my first born… and the worst part is he won't even keep it. He'll give it to a Madoff because he knows that would hurt more." Dan stressed rubbing his eyes till they saw stars. "Losing any kid, let alone my godson is bad enough, but losing Chuck and Blair's kid?"

"You're right. Stop breathing. This might be easier if you're dead."

The elevator doors opened to no less than two dozen people moving around the apartment, some in uniform, and some looking sketchy and uncomfortable at being surrounded by those in uniform. Through the chaos Chuck's butler appeared and led Dan and Vanessa into Chuck's home office. When the door shut behind them, the silence seemed to envelop them like a dead weight. Neither of them moved as they looked at Chuck who sat at his desk. He didn't speak. He didn't even look at them as he took another deep drink from his glass. Frozen they waited until he made a slight indication with his head towards the couch. As the hurried to sit, they finally noticed that Chuck hadn't been alone, and Nate was also sitting and drinking in the quiet of the room.

"I suggest neither of you make any sudden moves." Nate whispered to them under his breath. "Blair's on her way here."

"So this is what the last moments of my life feel like?" Dan commented. "Huh… It really does pass right before your eyes. Jenny was right. I have worn too many vests. Do you think I have time to say goodbye to my dad?"

Like a glass shattering, the silence of the room was broken as the office door was thrown open.

"WHERE IS HE?!" Blair's voice echoed off the walls and announced her presence.

Chuck stood at her arrival and made his way around the desk. She stormed over to him, her fists slamming into his shoulders, knocking him back a step.

"Blai—" He started.

"ENOUGH of the games. This isn't funny! I want to know where you have him hidden, and I want him back! Do you understand me?!" Her hands had fisted into his lapels and she shook him with every word.

"I don't hav—" Chuck tried to break in again.

"YOU HAVE HIM!" Blair practically screamed.

Chuck looked deep into her eyes, as only he could and didn't move. Blair's hysteria rose as her worst fear began to take hold. Since she'd learned of Charlie's disappearance a part of her had clung to the belief that Chuck had him, because that would mean she would only have to kill his father, but Charlie would be safe. The idea of not knowing if her son was safe was like a black hole opening up under her feet.

"You have him…" She begged sagging into his arms that wrapped around her and pulled her against him.

Keeping his gaze locked to hers, he promised. "We'll get him back. Whatever it takes, even if it bankrupts me, we'll get him back."

For an instant her eyes filled with tears and her lip quivered, but then her iron will returned, and she pulled her emotions back under tight control. She nodded slightly, pulling out of his arms to take a seat in the silent vigil of waiting.

The afternoon stretched into dusk with still no word. Police came and went, asking questions, asking about any enemies the two parents might have. The list was long. Dorota brought Blair tea she didn't drink. Nate poured Chuck drinks that he did. Word of the missing Bass heir hit the media, and Dan turned of the TV at the mention of Lindberg baby comparisons, hoping that this story would not end the same way. The phone rang constantly with friends, colleagues, and enemies offering support, but the still the kidnapper did not call.

Night came and so did the answer.

Within an hour of the call Chuck and Blair were on his private jet, headed to Buffalo and the boarder into Canada. This news had not come from the police, but from a contact Chuck had within the Canadian boarder crossing guards. While it had been first reported to Chuck alone, the kidnapper was now being held by the proper authorities. He had however, been assured a private audience for a short time.

The last minute flight meant there were no attendants in the cabin of the plane, and Chuck and Blair sat still as statues side by side on the couch, the hum of the engines the only sound. The tension of the day and the anticipation of getting their son back in their arms began to crackle between them. The energy pulling off of each of them wrapped around the other and had a pulse beat all of its own. It was like the tightened string of a cello, and as their eyes met, it snapped.

His hand slipped around her nape, pulling her in, just as she slammed her mouth onto his. The kiss was full of rage and desperation, and it yanked from them all the feelings they had pent up. Emotion shot through them and dragged their twisting, grasping bodies to the floor of the cabin.

TaHDaH! I know that was short, but it was the natural break in the story. Now that the holidays are over, I'll try to have a new chapter up quickly. Once again, I'm sorry it's been a while. Blame my family and friends. Stupid family and friends who wanted to spend time with me and take me away from my writing. Blame them. I'm innocent. (bats eyes at her lovely readers) Come on! You can't be mad at me! I'm giving you all CB sex… I was going to say Chair sex, but that just sounds wrong in this context.


	17. Chapter 17

Hello! Do you know what really sucks? I feel like Gossip Girl should be on Monday, and yet it won't be. Sucks. Once again, OTH fans are used to this push back, but I can't remember them doing it with GG. Sigh. There's a bigger sigh, and all the spoiler readers out there know what I'm talking about. Here we go…

With a final scream Blair collapsed on his chest, and Chuck grunted, his arms wrapping around her and tightening convulsively. It seemed like a fraction of a second later, Blair shoved herself out of his arms, and threw her body away from his. They lay on their backs, panting, not touching, and staring at the plane's cabin ceiling.

"Idiot!" Blair broke out once her breathing had returned to somewhat normal.

"Ouch. You wound me." Chuck drawled sarcastically.

"I was taking to myself." Blair said with a huff as she struggled to stand while trying to simultaneously push her skirt down and pull her blouse closed. Her success rate was not good.

"This." She bit out, swinging an accusing finger back and forth between them. "This never happened."

With that she stormed through the cabin to the bathroom, and slammed the door shut behind her. She leaned her back against the door for a moment, and her hands came up to cover her face. She stood there for a moment, totally stunned by what she'd just actively taken part in. Of all the things that should and should not have happened today, her having sex with her ass basstard of an ex-husband was definitely one of them.

Shaking her head, she dropped her arms and moved to the sink, turning the cold water on, and bending to splash some on her face. She stood up at the sound of the pilot announcing over the PA system that they were preparing for landing. Grabbing a hand towel she patted her face dry, and was only mildly surprised that when she rummaged through a drawer she found many of the products she used. She didn't know whether she wanted to think he kept her things or that he just stocked the place for whatever woman he brought onto it. As she finished she noticed the slight shaking in her hands.

She looked her reflection dead in the eye. "You are Blair Waldorf. Pull it together!"

While straightening her clothes and perfecting her look, she also came up with a million and one reasons why she fell off the Anti-Chuck wagon. The biggest one, and the one that was probably the most true, was that it was a side effect of the stress she'd been holding in since learning Charlie was gone. In a close second was that she had simply lost her mind. Moving to the door, she took a deep steadying breath, and reminded herself that it didn't matter, she'd slipped up, but in a few hours she'd have her son back safely, and everything could go back to the way it was. With that positive thought in her head she opened the door.

When Blair took a seat and strapped herself in for the landing, she ignored Chuck, and for once it seemed like he wasn't looking straight into her soul with those damn all-seeing eyes of his. Right now he was focused on his phone.

The former couple said nothing more as the plane touched down. They said nothing in the car on the way to the boarder station. They said nothing as they paced the lobby waiting for an agent to bring out Charlie.

And then he was there.

"My baby!" Blair screeched as she snatched him from the agent's arms.

Chuck said nothing but took deep steadying breaths, trying to emote nothing. Walking to Blair and Charlie, he placed his hand on Charlie's head, and pressed his lips to his son's soft hair. Neither Blair nor Chuck shed tears, or went into hysterics. In fact to the outside observer, such as the agents, it would seem like they were parents greeting their child after a long trip abroad. Only they knew how truly shaken they were; as parents, as individuals.

Blair's eyes began to devour Charlie, picking up every detail.

"Oh, my god." She said with total horror. "Is he wearing… Old Navy?"

Blair wanted to leave as soon as possible. She didn't want to see the kidnapper. She never wanted to see that face again. She looked at Chuck, knowing he felt differently.

"We'll be in the car."

Chuck nodded, and watch Blair hurry out. Straightening his tie he looked towards an agent, and then pulled out a think manila envelope. The agent looked around and then took the envelope, shoving it into his pocket before leading Chuck to the interrogation room at the back of the station.

"You've got five minutes, Mr. Bass." The agent said as he held the door open for him.

When the agent shut it, Chuck was now left alone with the person who had tried to take the most valuable thing in his empire.

"So… how much does an execution cost?"

Chuck didn't answer but surveyed the man sitting at the simple steel table. Chuck moved and slid into the seat across from him.

"It's lucky for you that I understand the acts of a desperate man, Drakewood."

Adam's eyes narrowed on Chuck, and he opened his mouth as if to speak.

"No." Chuck cut him off. "This ends here. You are going to go through the legal process, and I am not going to interfere… I won't even see to it that you have a prison bunkmate that calls you Sally. From this point on your life and mine will not intersect. That goes for Blair and Charlie as well. You will not come after any of us again. You don't want to know what I'll do if I ever get the hint that you're in Manhattan, and if I think you're going to pull another stunt like this… I'll wipe you from the face of this Earth…"

Chuck finished with total menace. He didn't want to hear Adam drone on and on about why he took Charlie. If there was one thing Chuck had been born and bred to understand, it was revenge. In any other scenario Chuck would be out for blood himself, but he was a father now. He wanted this done. He had enough enemies of his own without creating ones that target his son.

Chuck got up and pulled his jacket tight before heading for the door.

"So… wait? That's it?" Adam stammered, breaking as he realized that he was being left alone, but left with nothing… not even what he most wanted. "You're not going to apologize?"

Chuck didn't even pause as he tapped on the door to be let out. He was down the hall and just caught the end of Adam's broken lament before the door slammed shut.

"I just want my dog…"

The driver held the door open for Chuck, and he slid in. He wasn't surprised to see Charlie changed into fresh pink Egyptian cotton clothes as he sat in a car seat. Blair continued to fuss over the boy as the car started to speed them back to the airport for their flight home.

They arrived at the airport and headed out onto the tarmac to board the plane.

"So… it's over?" Blair finally asked, the wind whipping her hair about her.

Chuck nodded, taking Charlie into his arms.

"Next time… You might want to leave a man's dog out of it…" He said smoothly before boarding the plane.

Blair stood stunned for a moment before following. These would be the last words they would speak for over two months.

Blair's foot tapped compulsively against the marble of the foyer floor. What was taking so long? The elevator finally chimed and the doors opened and Blair took and excited breath in… Only to have her hopes crash through the floor.

"Ugh. It's only you." She breathed out.

"Nice to see you too, Blair." Serena breezed in.

Blair rolled her eyes, but leaned in as the girls blew air kisses across the other's cheek. Blair grabbed Serena's arm and dragged her into the formal living room, where they both flopped onto the sofa. Blair fidgeted as she kept glancing towards the elevator.

"Do I even have to ask what has you so riled?"

"Riled? I'm fine. Fine! What could possible be wrong with my life? Charlie's birthday is coming up. Aaron Rose moved to Iceland. I've gotten mother and daddy to agree that I'll be 28 for another three years. My life is perfect."

"And you're not missing Chuck at all…" Serena prodded, knowing that there had been a wall of silence between the two since they brought Charlie home, and neither one of them seemed inclined to break it. They communicated about Charlie through Dorota, texts, or one of the two very large bodyguards that Chuck had hired to protect Charlie.

"Why would I miss Chuck? He nauseates me!" Blair announced for the millionth time in her life.

Serena raised one brow, but decided to move onto her own reason for needing her best friend. "Alright, while I have your partially undivided attention… There's something I need to ask you about…"

Catching that very familiar Serena note in her friend's voice, Blair's attention went smack to her friend. "What is it, S? I thought you'd been okay since your divorce? Don't worry you've gotten through it before. It's like falling off a horse!" Her voice drifted for a second, before going sharp. "Unless that horse is named Adam and he's working for your Machiavellian ass of an ex-husband. Then you'll need a rabies shot."

Serena couldn't help but laugh, but she shook her head. "No… it's not that… B, I think I'm pregnant…"

"Oh, my god! Lars? Really? That's as if your mother had a child with one of the Claus'! EW!"

"Says the mother of Chuck Bass's only child." Serena smiled at the look of indignation that pinched Blair's face, then she moved on. "No. Not Lars…"

"Then who…"

"We were in a bar… we'd had a few drinks…"

Blair didn't need to hear any more. "You would think you and Nate would have perfected this move by now."

Serena ignored Blair's rolling eyes, and gave her a set of big sappy eyes of her own. "I bought a couple of tests. Would you pee on a stick with me?"

"That's disgusting." Blair said, but sighed. "Fine. I'll do it. You can put your Bambi eyes away, no one will be shooting your mother today."

As the women made their way through the foyer, the elevator chimed.

"Oh, thank gawd." Blair exclaimed as she charged the delivery person, grabbing the food and throwing some money at him.

Fifteen minutes later, Blair sat on the bed, finishing off a hot dog. She'd be lying if she said this was the first time the two friends had taken two pregnancy tests at the same time. There was safety in numbers, and there had been a couple of scares along their lives. Oddly enough this was one of the less weird things they'd done over they years.

"So? What do they say?" Blair called out absentmindedly as she took a cloth napkin and dabbed a spot of mustard off her lip.

Serena came out of the bathroom looking stunned. "It's positive…"

"Congratulations! You're having a Vanderbilt! You just moved up a few thousand rungs on the social ladder." Blair chirped as she bounced up from the bed. "CC and his grandfather will probably want a wedding faster than cells can multiply, but I think you should wait. You look beautiful in the summer. Not all washed out like you do this time of year."

"No." Serena shook her head. "I'm not pregnant."

Blair looked at her confused. "Then why did you say the test is positive?"

"Because it's yours…"

TAhDaH! Is anyone else cold? I'm so cold. Canada, I love you, but winter? Seriously? I must admit I've been curled up on my couch, watching season one a lot this week. It was either that or actually do all my readings for school. It's amazing that I'll be graduating this year…


	18. Chapter 18

Hello! Okay, you can totally thank Heather for this UD. I had three midterms, an essay proposal, and I'm going away for a few days. I had NO intention of writing until I got a charming PM from her. I finished my last midterm this morning, and I came home and wrote this. I haven't packed. I haven't showered. If I miss my train, and am smelly it will be Heather's fault. Because of my rush I have NOT proof read this chapter. If I had to proof read it you wouldn't have gotten it until late next week… don't hate me.

"What do you mean 'it's mine'?" Blair demanded tightly, as she looked at Serena with a deadly steady glare.

Serena went very still and reminded herself not to make any sudden moves. "Well, the test I took was negative… the test you took… is the opposite of negative… Are you following me…"

For a moment they stood frozen, then Blair grabbed the nearest thing to her, a vase of fresh flowers, and hurled them against the wall. Serena cringed for several reasons, not the least of them being that said wall was only a foot away from her head. She watched as Blair began to frantically pace the room.

"No. No. No. No. NO!" Blair shrilled, throwing her hands in the air. "I'm not having a baby. I HAD a baby."

"Yeah, I don't think the test still comes out positive after the baby's out of you… I think you have a new one in you." Serena made her way to the bed and flopped down on it, still watching her friend. "So… B… When was the last time you had your period?"

"I've been very stressed!" Blair hissed, as she frantically tried to calculate dates in her head.

Serena sat up suddenly. "Oh, my gawd… You have a baby daddy, and he's in prison… I think this could get you deported from the Upper East Side?"

"This is NOT funny." She snapped, and then pointed at her stomach. "And this? IF there is a This, This is not Adam's!"

"Not Adam's?" Serena asked confused, then a thought dawned in her brain. "Oh, no…"

Blair's eyes rolling towards her friend for a brief second before rolling away again, was all the conformation Serena needed.

"Blair!"

"What?!"

"Chuck!"

"I never said that…"

"You didn't have too! Your dirty little Bass secret is written all over you… and inside of you, apparently…" Serena teased looking Blair up and down.

Blair came and sat next to Serena on the bed, the truth starting to penetrate her brain. Suddenly, all the signs she'd been ignoring for weeks were hitting her in the face, and she started to admit to herself that the nausea, the cravings, the mood swings, okay maybe the mood swings were par for the course with Blair, but the other two were evidence of something else.

"It just… happened." Blair said with a resigned sigh. "There was all the anxiety and tension because of Charlie being missing, and we were alone on the plane and—"

"Seriously, B? What is it with you and moving vehicles?" Serena interrupted incredulously.

"Really?" Blair bit out. "It that really a topic for discussion we need to address right now?"

"I guess not…" But she couldn't help herself. "But is it the vibration?"

Blair's eyes turned to daggers.

"Okay, okay! I'll let it go… for now."

They were both quiet for a few minutes, processing everything.

"So… What are you going to do, B?"

With a focused sigh, Blair stood up and straightened her clothes.

"I'm going to plan Charlie's birthday." She said calmly. Then she ran to the bathroom and threw up.

The next weekend Blair moved at a furious pace around her apartment, barking out orders to Dorota and the other staff to ensure that the preparations for Charlie's first birthday party. With a small pause, she surveyed the room, and sighed at its perfection. Dorota stood next to her, and smiled, "Room is perfect, Ms. Blair. It will be a wonderful party!"

Blair nodded with a small smile, and then spotted a sloppy balloon arrangement by the food banquet table, and it was on. She snapped at a passing waiter to fix it and stood over his shoulder till it was properly adjusted. Dorota didn't cringe at her employer's tone, but the poor waiter looked like he was on the first bus back to Idaho. Then Blair did something that truly caught Dorota's attention. As Blair scanned the lay out of the food, she spotted a tray of fresh hotdogs set out. Dorota had raised an eyebrow when she'd seen the item on the menu Blair had created for the party, but she had shrugged it off as just a party food Blair thought was appropriate. Now, Dorota watched in shock as Blair licked her lips, picked up a hot dog and took a desperate bite.

"Oh, boy." Dorota mumbled.

"What?" Blair snapped with a mouthful of food.

"You pregnant."

"No! What?! How did you…" Blair managed as the hot dog turned to sawdust in her mouth.

"When you ten years old, you go to party, and eat hot dog. Mr. Chuck make comment about how much you enjoy wiener, and after Ms. Serena explain it to you, you no eat hot dog again… until you pregnant. You have hot dog, you have baby."

"You can say that again…" Blair mumbled as she hand the barely touched hot dog to a passing cater waiter.

"You tell Mr. Chuck?"

"How do you know its Chuck's." Blair remarked haughtily.

Dorota just rolled her eyes.

Just then the elevator chimed, signaling the arrival of the first guests. Blair leaned in and hissed to Dorota. "I haven't made any decisions yet, so whatever you do, do NOT tell Chuck!"

"Welcome!" Blair chirped in her most happy voice to the first guests, turning her back on Dorota.

Chuck stood in the elevator and rolled his head back and forth against the wall, before glancing down at his suit. While he hadn't chosen it himself, it met with his approval, partially because it was an exquisite in both cut and material, but also because she had picked it out. It had arrived earlier in the week with a note saying that he was to wear it because it matched Charlie's suit, and her lavender dress. It was the only exchange they'd had in what felt like forever. Missing her was an ache that Chuck found was becoming painful in its familiarity. He knew that he had to back off, create space before the next attack, but right now? Today he just wanted to see her, to see her really laugh where it brought out her perfect dimples. To watch the way her small, quick steps would move her around the room. To maybe catch the scent of her hair…

The elevator opened and in moments he was lost in the party. He very easily gained Charlie and moved around the room, talking to people. Today was a day to celebrate, and Chuck found it a surprisingly easy thing to do. It was his son's birthday, and he had sworn to himself that he and Charlie would celebrate every single one. He would not be his father.

Chuck's only dark point in the party was that he seemed to see very little of Blair. He'd circulate towards her, but by the time he got there she was on the other side of the room. When the photographer asked them to pose with Charlie, she did so, but was gone as soon as the shot was taken. What really caught Chuck's attention was her total avoidance of eye contact with him. He could usually goad her into a glare, but not today. Chuck could read her, and something was off.

Later, Chuck spotted Blair slipping out a side door and out of the party. Handing Charlie off to Serena, Chuck quickly followed her down a hallway to her private home office. She turned, startled, as he closed the door behind them, enclosing the two of them in the privacy of the room. After the brief glance of recognition, Blair once again looked away.

"What is it, Bass?"

"I could ask you the same question…"

She moved about the room like prey looking for an exit, but her number one predator was blocking the only door. Not one to back down herself when cornered, she stormed right towards him, stopping mere inches away and demanded, "Move!"

"What's gotten into you?" Chuck asked calmly, not moving and in fact slouching further against the door.

"Funny you should ask…" She commented sharply.

Finally having her full attention, Chuck tried to focus on what their current issue could be, and attempted to placate her. "Is this about what happened on the plane… Because you were right, we should forget it happened…"

"It would be nice, wouldn't it? Just to move on, forget it happened!"

Chuck looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "Listen, precious, it was you who lay down the moratorium on our lay."

Blair's eyes shut for a second as she tried to regain her composure and not to fully lose her temper. "Shut up and MOVE!" So much for that idea.

Chuck's head cocked to the side, he leaned forward slightly, and whispered seductively. "Make me…"

"I could very easily make you move." She said, her anger driving her right now. "I could make you move, I could make you run."

Chuck smiled in that way that let her know he still thought he had the upper hand, and it made her want to rip that expression right off his smug face.

"I'm pregnant."

Completely caught off guard, Chuck went into shock, and Blair was easily able to shove him out of the way, causing him to stumble and fall against a side table. Blair stormed passed him, but paused just out of the doorframe to look back at him propped on the table in shock. She looked him up and down with ice in her eyes and her voice.

"Run away, little boy, run away." And with that she was gone, leaving him and chaos in her wake.

TahDAH! There you go! I hope you all enjoyed that. By the way in the void that is the hole GG left with its absence… I've become obsessed with Greek. I love it. The only way I think my obsession can be cured it through the return of Chair. CHAIR! I miss them so…


	19. Chapter 19

Hello! I hope you'll all forgive me I'm still on an Olympic high. SOOOO proud of all our athletes, and so proud of our Women's and Men's Hockey teams! GOLD! BEST Olympics EVER! Oh, and I didn't proof it again. Still love me? Here we go…

Her heels clicked sharply as she hurried down the hall. She was almost back to the party when a hand caught her elbow, spinning her and pinning her up against the wall. Not totally surprised, Blair rolled her eyes before focusing on a spot near the ceiling and pretending he didn't exist.

"What do you mean you're pregnant?" He hissed with an edge of near rage in his voice.

"You wouldn't think I would have to explain this to a man who has gold medaled in procreation." She hissed back.

"I wouldn't say that, since up until now my only progeny was one… and as we know, I didn't really have any input into that one."

Blair met his eyes and a vicious little smile came to her lips as she taunted him. "And what makes you think it's yours?"

A knowing malicious smile slid across his face. "The fact that your boyfriend was on my payroll, which made him a eunuch where you were concerned. I got you the best living, breathing chastity belt money could buy…"

Her eyes narrowed as she gasped. Having enough of him and this game for now, she slammed the spike of her heel down on his foot. Chuck cursed as she slipped away and into the party. Surrounded by family and friends she proceeded to dodge him for the rest of the party, ever aware that his eyes stalked her everywhere she went. As the guests began to filter out she stood in the foyer seeing them off, ignoring the fact that Chuck was slouched against the far wall, making it clear he wasn't going anywhere. Serena was the last to leave bouncing the birthday boy on her hip as she came into the foyer.

"Here's the birthday boy!" Serena chirped, handing him to a stiff and agitated Blair.

Serena, becoming aware of the simmering tension in the area, slid her gaze back and forth from Blair to Chuck.

"Either he knows or he's planning on killing you… or both." Serena whispered. "Call me later."

As Serena disappeared into the elevator Blair and Chuck silently faced off from opposite sides of the foyer. Blair held Charlie in her arms as if he was a tiny human shield, and she started edging towards the kitchen where Dorota would be and provide a more substantial deterrent than Charlie. Unfortunately Chuck countered her every move, cutting off her escape route.

"Don't worry I'm not going to kill you… especially since you're carrying both my children at the moment." He commented dryly.

"I literally wouldn't count your chickens before they're hatched, if I were you…" Blair said vaguely not making eye contact.

Chuck's eyes narrowed, not liking the subtle implication behind her words. He didn't have to question further, because he knew the answer was coming.

"Meaning…" She said, stroking a hand over Charlie's soft dark hair. "That I only ever wanted one child. I'm still considering my options at the moment…"

Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Blair slipped down a hall to the kitchen where Dorota was directing some of the clean up staff. Chuck was right behind her, and she quickly moved to put the kitchen island between them. Dorota's eyed the former couple, and signaled for the staff to leave the kitchen. She then tried to take Charlie from Blair, who immediately tightened her grip on her shield, aka her son.

"No!" Blair half shrieked in the scuffle.

"Give me boy." Dorota said, and finally managed to wrestle Charlie out of Blair's arms.

Shaking her head Dorota left the kitchen with Charlie, and left Blair and Chuck scowling at each other from across the kitchen.

"You can glare all you want, Bass, but you haven't managed to kill me with a look in all these years, so I wouldn't imagine it would be that affective now." Blair finally said.

"You can't be serious…" He said cutting to the chase, both of them knowing they were jumping into the deep end.

"Really?" Blair said with a raised brow. "I believe I'm totally serious. I loved being an only child. Why wouldn't I plan the same for my son?"

"Ahhh… The Blair Waldorf plan… An heir without a spare… but it's a little too late for that now, don't you think…"

"I'm thinking I live in America and that I have options."

"And we know how much you like options… like sex on the floor of my jet…"

"That wasn't part of the plan!"

"Really? Well… I had to adjust to your plan… Now it's time for you to do the adjusting."

"Excuse me?"

"You're having the baby. I know you want it, and you know you want it." He taunted. "You're just being… you…"

He was right, it hadn't been part of her plan to ever have another baby, and while she'd never wanted a sibling for herself, she had to admit it might be good for Charlie. She and Chuck were the embodiment of only children, and it wasn't this that made her want to give Charlie a sibling. It was knowing how close Serena and Eric were, as well as Dan and Jenny, that made her want that for Charlie. Blair had a feeling Charlie was going to need a brother or sister in the trenches with him. Besides if he had a sibling so young he might not notice that his inheritance had just split in half.

Her decision already made, she moved into a different verbal combat with her ex.

"How interesting that you say that when you're acting so uncharacteristically." She quipped.

"I don't follow…"

"Here you are, standing in my kitchen. I thought you'd be half way to Singapore by now, what with the whole 'I didn't want to watch you die' blah, blah, blah." Blair rolled her eyes.

"Well… you seem to have come through the last pregnancy with flying colours. So no, kitten… I'm not going anywhere…" A slow cunning smile came to his lips.

"Unfortunately you're no longer welcome." Blair said in her sweetest voice.

"Never stopped me before." He smiled, nodding goodbye and then heading out the door.

Blair watched him go, trying to ignore the way her blood had pumped faster when he was around, and that feeling like for once she was matching wits with an equal. She wouldn't admit it but whenever Chuck wasn't fully in her life she felt like she was surrounded by pawns, missing the only person who got her, and could ever really get the best of her. She walked past the staff finishing up the party clean up, and went upstairs to Charlie's room. She could hear Dorota in the bathroom with him, and judging by the string of cursing in Polish, Charlie had taken to splashing again. Not wanting to be part of that, she absently adjusted pictures and figurines on the lilac colored baby grand in the corner of the nursery. She had selected all the pictures herself, but now the one that she hadn't stood out like a Payless in a Manolo store. She hadn't seen this shot in years…

_Flashback._

_Blair sat perched on her knees, her brow furrowed as she shook the dice in her hands. She ignored Chuck who lay sprawled on the floor across from her, his head lazily propped on his hand as he watched her shake the dice as if her life depended on it. Letting them go she held her breath, her eyes locked on the roll, Chuck's eyes locked on her. Her whole face changed with triumph when she rolled an eleven, putting her one roll away from the finish. Taking her man, she moved him quickly along the board, counting out loud the squares, but skipping several with her hand, putting her three squares closer to the end than she should have been. This was something she did regularly when playing Chutes and Ladders with Serena or Nate, and she didn't see why doing it with Chuck would be any different._

"_Either you can't count or you're cheating, Waldorf."_

_Pulling her self up, she tossed a lock of her long dark hair over her shoulder. "I'm Blair Waldorf. I don't cheat."_

"_Sure you do… Yesterday I saw you trip Hazel during jump rope, and at Nate's birthday you put a rock in Serena's shoe before the relay race." He said smiling._

"_She's freakishly tall. I wasn't cheating. I was evening the odds. And what are you doing watching me anyways? You have staring problems!" She huffed._

_Chuck picked up the dice and rolled them between his hands. He'd already cheated three times in the game himself, but he loved to get her angry. Blair always seemed to want everything to be perfect and for everyone to think she was perfect, but she had a wicked temper that Chuck loved to bring out. Dorota and Chuck's current Nanny Magda had arranged a play date for them, and so Dorota had picked both of them up after Kindergarten, at first they'd raided her parent's closet until they'd been caught by Dorota, and they'd been in Blair's room playing ever since. Chuck was just about to let go of the dice, making sure they landed on fives and win the game, when Dorota came quickly into the room. She pulled the drapes, and turned down the bed before catching Blair up in her arms, laying her on the bed and pulling off her shoes._

"_What's going on?" Chuck asked confused, sitting up on the carpet._

"_Is nap time." Dorota told him._

"_You take a nap?" Chuck derided to Blair a second before he started snickering at her._

_He was cut off by Dorota hoisting him into her arms. She plopped him onto the bed, pulled off his shoes and nudged him till he was lying down, all before young master Bass could issue a formal protest._

"_I don't take naps. I'm Chuck Bass." He said sullenly._

"_Today Chuck Bass take nap." Dorota said as she pulled the blanket over both the children and tucked them firmly in._

_Dorota left shutting the door behind her. The two children lay on their sides facing each other. The drapes were closed blocking out the light of the afternoon, but shafts of sunlight drifted in. _

"_She's gone. We can get up now." Chuck whispered._

"_Hmm?" Blair mumbled, her eyes already drooping._

_Clearly Blair embraced a good nap. The bed was soft and warm, and all too comfortable, making Chuck shift trying to shake off the heaviness he was feeling. He hadn't been lying when he said Chuck Bass didn't take naps. His fidgeting caused his knees to bump up against hers and her eyes opened with an annoyed sigh. She shifted closer to him and he felt her hand move under the blanket._

"_What are you doing?" He demanded as he felt her small hand start to pat his back._

"_Shhh!" She said starting to drift off. "Sometimes when I can't sleep Daddy pats my back."_

_Chuck told himself he should jump out of the bed and tell Blair and Dorota that it would take more than the two of them to best Chuck Bass, but instead he fell asleep. An hour later when Dorota came in to check on them, she found the two curled like kittens, their foreheads touching, but what had Dorota get the camera was the way their fingers had become intertwined as the slept. The way they held each other's hand._

_End of flashback_

Blair put the picture back amongst the others. Before everything had happened she had always thought that that picture had represented them. They were two individuals, but connected. Always connected, and it was more than marriage, or children, or time. There were days when she hated that she still felt it, and hated knowing, barring a lobotomy, it was never going to change. She just needed to decide what was going to happen next.

TAhDAh!! Show of hands… who's in shock we finally made it to March?!! CHAIR on Monday! I've missed them so! I've distracted myself. I've caught Olympic fever. I've even fallen hard for a new show (Greek. Adore Casey and Cappie). But I've missed Blair Waldorf, and I've missed Chuck Bass. CHAIR!! Oh, and get this… I'm a feminist, I'm even doing a degree in Women's Studies, and I've been invited to attend this thing on International Women's Day. Monday. Yeah, I chucked my feminist principals a bit. I was like… I need to be OUT of there by 8:30. I am a bad feminist.

PS-It's going to start moving a tad faster, because I don't plan on it going more than another couple of chapters.


	20. Chapter 20

Hello! Okay, TOO fast. Both Chuck and Blair trusted that woman TOO fast. If one or both of them had been more leery I'd say maybe she was okay… but both of our self-centered, damaged people gulping the Elizabeth KoolAid? They're gonna fall hard. The style of this chapter is a little different then what I usually write, but I hope you all will bear with me. Here we go…

_First Doctor's Appointment…_

Blair lay propped up on the examining table, Serena in a chair beside her as they waited to see the doctor. They flipped through fashion and design magazines to kill time.

"I'm thinking of doing the nursery in soft lilac with silver accents." Blair mused, not really caring what Serena thought of the idea.

"And what if it's a boy?"

Blair gave Serena a quizzical look. "What's your point?"

"Never mind." Serena smiled shaking her head and looking back at her magazine.

"What is taking the doctor so long?" Blair demanded, slamming her Décor shut. "I have other things to do today, you know."

Serena smiled. "She'll be here soon. And you can pretend all you want that you aren't phased, but I know you want to get a peek at the new Bass on the block…"

"I do not!" Blair scoffed. "This isn't my first time, and besides it doesn't even look like anything yet. Actually it looks like a lima bean with a pulse. I took half a day off from work to see yesterday's lunch."

"Yesterday's lunch isn't eventually going to have brown hair, brown eyes, and a plot to take over the world."

Blair ignored the teasing in her friend's tone, because that actually sounded pretty good to her. Flipping the pages of her magazine again, she commented without looking up from it. "You have no concept of what a career is, so sitting here for hours is just slightly different scenery than your regular session at the spa. I still have goals."

"I'm exploring my interests!"

They heard the handle of the door turn and both women looked up expectantly.

"Finally!" Blair said in a huff, tired of waiting.

"Oh, my god…"

"Did you tell him?" Blair turned on Serena.

Before Serena could defend herself, Chuck sauntered fully into the room. "Easy, kitten. Serena didn't tell me anything… I have other sources…"

"Dorota!" Blair correctly guessed. "You know, ever since she had her baby she just hasn't been as scared of the INS as she used to be…"

"Okay!" Serena announced. "It's getting a little crowded in here. Call me later."

She leaned in a kissed a stunned Blair on the cheek before skipping out the door.

"Traitor." Blair said as the door shut.

Chuck smiled that self-satisfied way he did when he was where he knew he wasn't wanted. He slid into Serena's vacated chair and into his regular slouch, one arm on the armrest, and the other flung over the back of the chair. He continued to watch her. She continued to ignore him. Then the doctor finally came in and started getting the sonogram ready.

"What is that?" Chuck questioned with a raise brow as an object he didn't recognize was taken out, but with a shape that was oddly familiar.

"We'll be doing an internal ultrasound today." The doctor commented, not looking up from her preparations.

"That can be your cue to leave." Blair said, still not looking at him.

"Why?" He tisked, a taunting smile coming across his lips. "I've been with you for oh, so many probings … It will be like a walk down memory lane… Will you purr for me?"

Blair's eyes narrowed a second before she snatched his hand from where it rested on the armrest of his chair, and wrenched his index finger back. His body contorted in pain, and he lurched into a frozen pose under her grip.

She leaned in so that her face was mere inches from his and hissed. "You can stay, but one more quip, one more smarmy comment, and I'll have no qualms about personally seeing to it that mine are the last two children you are physically capable of making. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." He bit out, and then sighed with relief as she let go of his finger.

The doctor cleared her throat, uncomfortable in a small room with such volatile people. The year she'd spent in Afghanistan with Doctors Without Boards suddenly seemed like a cakewalk.

"Shall we begin?"

Blair gave her a cat's smile, and nodded for the doctor to continue. The room was quiet for a minute, and then was filled with the sound of a steady heartbeat. Chuck sat up from his lounging position at the thumping, and he leaned in, his eyes locked on the sonogram's screen as black and white waving images rolled across it. Blair's breath caught.

"There it is…" She whispered, trying to ignore the way her throat tightened.

"That's it?" Chuck questioned in disbelief. He'd never been that much of a fan of abstract art, but this piece blew him away.

"What did you expect?" Blair questioned him, her voice lacking any malice. "That it would be wearing a bow tie and drinking two fingers of scotch…"

"That's our baby…"

"That's our baby."

_Second Appointment…_

Blair seethed where she reclined on the examining table, keeping her focus on scanning the messages on her cell, but she could feel his eyes. His piercing gaze was locked, not on her face that had take on a pregnancy glow, not on the burgeoning swell of her stomach, but on the most rapidly growing part of her body…

"You know, Blair…" He began leaning forward into her personal space till she could feel his breath through the thin paper gown she wore. "I have always been more than appreciative of all your charms and proportions… but I have to say..."

"Shut up!" She bit out, longing to fold her arms over her sensitive chest, but not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was getting to her.

"Really, Blair…" He said with a wide, true, Chuck Bass smile, as he ogled them one more time before looking up into her eyes. "They're magnificent… I'll give you fifty grand for an hour with them…"

"You're disgusting!" She snapped, but internally she felt her pulse pick up and her body start to hum.

"And yet you're considering…" His smile grew wider. "Make it a hundred… and you have to call me 'Mr. Bass'."

A throat cleared, and Blair and Chuck realized they were no longer alone, and that the doctor had probably heard more than she wanted to. However, the doctor was the only one who was embarrassed in the room. It took more that that to shame the shameless.

_Third Appointment…_

The doctor took a deep breath with her hand on the doorknob, steeling herself for her next appointment, and the verbal assault that was the Waldorf/Basses. Flipping open Ms. Waldorf's chart, she scanned it to be ready, and to have them in and out as fast as possible. She opened the door and for a second she thought she detected a flurry of movement, but since she'd had her head buried in her charts she couldn't be certain. She looked at the former couple from above the rim of her glasses. The two sat there as if they were sitting down for lunch at the Club.

"Shall we begin?"

With the exam over and with everything checked out, the doctor started to feel a sense of elation. For once… for once, the Waldorf/Bass appointment had occurred as a normal scheduled appointment. They were calm. They were polite to her and each other. They hardly spoke, but in the doctor's opinion that was part of the blessing. Feeling that high, she felt it was time to address some of the not so medical issues of this time in the pregnancy.

"Well… everything looks good. Umm… I know you've done this before, but you should probably expect some hormone changes at this stage of your pregnancy… You may find yourself becoming quick to anger… or agitate… or experience an increase in libido…"

For a split second the doctor could have sworn that the edge of Mr. Bass's lip curled up, but she must have been wrong because she blinked and the man was lounging in the chair with the same detached look he'd been wearing for the past twenty minutes.

"Thank you." Blair said with a dismissive snap.

The doctor was just shutting the door when she heard Ms. Waldorf address Mr. Bass.

"Your limo. Three laps around the park. You don't talk."

The doctor shut her eyes for a moment. She should have known she'd thought too soon.

_Fourth Appointment…_

Blair and Chuck once again waited impatiently for the doctor to come in, and when she finally did, they looked at her as if she was a gazelle that just stumbled upon a pair of lions.

"So are we ready for the—"

"3D ultrasound." Blair cut her off. "And yes, we want to know the gender. To be quite honest, it's been holding us up for weeks. And your excuse that its back was to us or its legs were shut—"

"Clearly not taking after its mother…"

Blair ignored his snide remark, and continued. "We need to find out the gender and we need to find out today."

The doctor started the scan and tried to ignore the sweat that broke out at the base of her back. Luckily baby Waldorf/Bass was in a rare co-operating mood.

"It's a girl!" She announced, and then beat a hasty retreat out of the room. She was extremely glad that today had been the last scheduled appointment before the due date. "I'll see you two in the delivery room!"

After a moment of self-processing, Chuck and Blair each reached for their respective attaché cases, and pulled out the most recent draft of their contract along with red pens.

"So…" Blair sighed as she scanned the paragraphs. "All selected male names are now nulled, and we move on to the aforementioned female choices."

Chuck nodded, his brow furrowed as he thought about the narrowed list of female names in front of him.

Blair tapped her pen sharply on the edge of the contract. "This would be a lot easier if you would just let me name her Audrey. You know it's been my plan since I was seven."

"Yes… Audrey Eleanor Archibald… I wonder why I was quick to veto that one…" He commented, still not looking up. "Your counter veto's malice was also duly noted…"

"Forgive me." She said with an icy snap. "I've already named one of my children after one of your dead parents. I'm not going for a second."

"And yet you approved Lillian for a middle name…"

"Once again, I said DEAD parents."

"And you're really holding to the 'no past sexual partners' grounds?"

"Yes."

"So that leaves us with…"

"Gwendolyn Lillian Lavinia Waldorf Bass." Blair nodded, approving of the sound of the name. "Never to be addressed as 'G', but with Gwendolyn, Gwen or Dolyn being considered acceptable."

Blair and Chuck each flicked through their copy of the contract, signing and initialing as they went, before switching contracts and repeating the process. Once done, the contracts were put away. Blair turned, sliding her legs off the side of the table, and was a little surprised when Chuck helped her down. He kept hold of her hands, and was looking in her eyes so intently that she had to look away.

"There isn't much time left…" He said softly, like a caress.

"I know." She whispered.

"Blair…"

"You should go."

And part of her hated him for listening.

TaHDah! There we go! OMG! I was re-watching the last episode the other day… did you see it? The CUTEST moment? When they're in the restaurant… and they're holding hands at the table? And not like a lame couple. Her arms look like they're folded, but then look and see where his hand is. ADORABLE! Sigh. LOVE Chair. Love. Oh, and I'm ready for it… go on. I know I'm gonna catch hell for Gwendolyn Lillian Lavinia Waldorf Bass. I named a boy Raine in my OTH fic. I can take it.

PS-Since I've never had a baby, I had to look a few things up. I ended up looking at shots of 3D ultrasounds. SO weird. The babies look like aliens! Smushy aliens.


	21. Chapter 21

Howdy! Are you bracing your self? I haven't slept well since I watched the preview last week. Now, just to answer a request I hear repeatedly… about my chapter lengths. I'll take it as a complement that some of you want them to be longer, but… it's probably not going to happen. 90% of my stuff her is about 2000 words per chapter. I write what's in my head till it comes to its natural end. If I tried to write more it would sound forced, and you all would then think I suck. I don't want to suck. You don't want me to suck. Let's avoid the suckage and keep to the 2000 wordish range. Deal? Here we go…

Blair walked sedately along the path to the pond, her eyes trained on her son, who was giving Dorota a run for her money. He hadn't wanted to sit in his stroller, and like many in his genetic line, Charlie Bass had gotten his own way. So now the toddler half ran, half stumbled towards the pond and the ducks with his Dorota pushing the empty stroller and being hot on his heels. As for Blair, a great deal of her focus was on trying to master her usual steps and not waddle like the nine months pregnant woman she was. Finally getting to her bench by the pond, she carefully sat down, but cringed at the fact that no matter how hard she tried her legs just wouldn't cross over each other. With disgust she folded the silk of her dress and placed her purse carefully on her lap as she crossed her ankles. The wind blew her loosely curled hair, and after the long winter if felt wonderful. Cleansing.

She felt him before she saw him sit down next to her. She inclined her head ever so slightly in greeting just enough to catch his nod. Wordlessly they watched their son as Dorota gave him pieces of bread, and both startled when he charged a Canadian Goose, and the majestic bird charged back, sending Charlie screaming into the arms of Dorota. Relaxing back against the bench, they did smile when their boy hurled a chunk of bread at the bird from his protected spot.

"That's your son." Chuck teased.

"I was about to say the same thing to you."

"You know what they say about great minds…"

It was then that Charlie glanced over and saw his father sitting on the bench.

"Dada!" He bellowed as he fought to get down.

Chuck's mouth shot up on one side the way it did when he was truly happy, and right now it was all for his son, who tripped and stumbled all the way to his father. It was Blair's favourite smile, but she wasn't about to tell him that. Finally getting to him, Chuck lifted Charlie into his arms, and the boy quickly wrapped his small arms around his father's neck, hugging tight. Chuck shut his eyes for a brief minute, gently patting his back, before pulling away a little to look him in the face.

"Hi!" Charlie smiled at him.

"Mr. Bass." Chuck smiled in greeting, and it grew when he saw Charlie glow at being called by his formal sir name. The two talked on about ducks, and bowties, and pointing out the buildings that were theirs in the skyline that blocked in the park.

For the first time since seeing his father, Charlie looked over at Blair and smiled. "Mine, Mama! All stuff mine!" Which caused his parents to chuckle.

Blair straitened the lapel of Charlie's jacket and smiled at him. "Yes, Charlie, all the buildings are going to be yours… and your sister's."

"No! Mine!" Charlie scowled.

Chuck smiled. "How about… those are your buildings, and I'll buy Gwendolyn her own?"

Charlie looked like he thought about it, but he was more likely trying to figure out what a sister was, or who the hell Gwendolyn was, then whether he was okay sharing his buildings.

"Now…" Chuck said, gaining Charlie's attention. "Why don't you go get those ducks…"

Chuck put him on the ground, and Blair gave a slight nod in signal to Dorota, and the maid called out to Charlie. "Charlie! Come. You feed ducks!"

"I no Charlie!" He yelled as he started towards her. "I Mr. Bass!"

Blair rolled her eyes and looked over at Chuck. "Great. I'm sure that's going to go over well at his playgroup."

She was about to go on to say that he was going to have to buy up the rest of Manhattan to keep things even, but just then her daughter rolled inside of her before sending a sharp kick into what felt like her kidney. She tried not to wince, but was clearly unsuccessful, as Chuck instantly leaned forward, his arm coming to her shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine." Blair said softly shaking her head. "I think your daughter is making sure her claim to the skyline is made."

Chuck seemed to relax, but his eyes were on the huge swell of Blair's stomach. "She's moving?"

"Like a fashioniesta at a Barney's sale." She smiled, and on impulse grabbed his hand, placing it on the side of her belly where the baby had last kicked. For a second there was no movement, and Blair started to worry she'd made a tactical error, when her daughter came through with two tight kicks into her father's hand before rolling over.

Chuck looked at Blair in awe. "She's strong."

"She's a Waldorf woman." Blair said in answer to the obvious.

Chuck laughed warmly and Blair smiled back, but then became very conscious of the fact that the baby was no longer putting on a show and Chuck's hand was still resting intimately against her.

Yanking her eyes away, she looked over at Dorota who was chasing Charlie as he ran towards a group of ducks by the water's edge.

"If he ends up in the pond, I'll see that you're sent back across it!" Blair shrilled at her maid.

Three days later, Blair's water broke. As per the contract, she called Chuck and he picked her up in his limo, and the headed to their private birthing suite at Lennox Hill Hospital. Within a few hours Blair was settled in a room with Egyptian cotton sheets, and peonies on every surface. Everything had been done to her exact specifications, except for one thing, and the growing pain that ripped from her back across the hard swell of her stomach, reminded her of exactly what was missing. Panting, sweating, and feeling WAY more paint then she had planned for with this labour. Had Blair been more with it, she might have noticed Chuck's quick fingers and focus on his Blackberry, but she didn't. She looked at the doctor as the woman finished her examination.

"Everything looks good, Ms. Waldorf. The baby is fine, and you're about 6cm dilated."

"Great…" Blair said as another contraction took her over. "Gold star for me… But where the hell is my epidural?"

The doctor glanced nervously over at Chuck, and Blair turned sharp eyes on her ex.

"Chuck…" Just then a haggard looking man appeared in the door and Chuck quickly got up and shook his hand.

"Marty." He said with a nod. "Thanks for coming. I know it's late."

Warning bells were going off in Blair's head like a four alarm fire in a fire station.

"Chuck…" She said finally able to catch her breath as the contraction receded. "Why does that anesthesiologist look like a civil servant?"

Chuck turned and smiled at her, the determined glint in his eyes letting her know that she had a right to be on edge, and given her current predicament she wasn't altogether sure that she could fight him right now. As he walked towards her she realized that had been his plan all along.

"This is his honorable Martin Grapper, and he's going to marry us."

"You must be referring to you and the doctor, because I'll marry you again the day I move out of Manhattan." She shot back.

The doctor took that as her cue to step out of the room. She didn't know how many ethical rules were about to be broken, but she knew she didn't want to witness it.

Chuck placed a hand on either side of her shoulders and leaned in to whisper against her ear. "Then we better pack our bags… because you're doing this."

"I will NOT!" Blair snapped, her hands coming up to shove at his shoulders, trying to get him to move away.

"Fine." Chuck smiled, moving away from her to sit in his chair by her bed. He stretched his legs out, and folded his hands across his chest, smiling larger as the increased beeping of a machine indicated another contraction was headed her way. "So, how do you like natural childbirth…"

"I hate you!" Blair gasped fighting him and the contraction that was so strong it made her want to die.

Even though Chuck felt the panic grow inside of him at seeing her in so much pain, he didn't let his concern show on the outside. He was doing this for them. He had to take this risk. She was stubborn and in her current vulnerable state this was the best chance he had at breaking her will. It was still entirely possible that she would thwart him. He held his breath.

"There's no pre-nup." Blair managed, trying to point out the flaw in his plan, and half growled at him. "I'll take you for half your empire in the next divorce."

Chuck leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and looked her dead in the eye, sensing victory. "I'm willing to bet there won't be a next time."

The never-ending contraction finally started to fade away, and she ripped her eyes off of his. She realized her hands were tightly fisted on the blankets and she tried to relax her grip. She was planning on ignoring him, but then she heard that damn beeping again, letting her know she was about to be taken over all too soon by the next pain. She knew she had to get something out.

"You've never apologized… This doesn't mean that I forgive yo—" She cut herself off as the pain hit, stronger than any that had come before.

Chuck nodded, still not wavering.

"Fine!" She agreed caving to his coercion.

The certificate was signed, and the ceremony was quick, the doctor and the missing anesthesiologist acting as witnesses. The judge looked slightly amused as he snidely asked the newlyweds if Chuck wanted to kiss his bride. Blair was about to warn him that she'd bite him if he tried it, when his hands slid into her hair and his hot mouth slanted across hers. He pulled back before she could think, and signaled for the epidural. Minutes later, a nurse helped Blair lean back against the pillows, and she sighed in relief at the pain being gone. Able to focus again, she looked at her new/old husband, and she couldn't miss the triumph in every line of his face.

"You really are an ass, you know…"

Chuck smiled pulling something from his pocket. He took her left hand and slid the wedding band she hadn't seen since having it messaged to him after the divorce, back onto her finger. She fought the tears that welled in her eyes, and she ran her right index finger over the band, as if she could feel the words engraved on the inside. _3 words, 8 letters_. She couldn't look at him, and soon she didn't have to as the doctor came in to check her, and told her she was fully dilated and it was time to push. Blair was still angry, but it felt right when Chuck came to her side, taking her hand and supporting her in the way she'd wished for the last time. She realized that couldn't matter right now, because right now he was there for her and their daughter as she was bring her into the world. It seemed to take forever, but finally Blair managed to push the baby from her body.

"It's a girl!" The doctor confirmed.

And Blair fell back with relief and joy. With half opened eyes she was lit with seeing the total happiness on Chuck's face as he cut the cord and took his hastily blanketed daughter into his arms. It was exalting, and it was everything she'd ever wanted. Chuck couldn't take his eyes from the baby, but as he moved back to Blair's side he smiled at his wife.

"She's perfect."

"Of course she is. She's ours…" A sudden wave of exhaustion swept into Blair, and she couldn't keep her eyes open.

"Blair?" Chuck asked, thinking she must have fallen asleep.

The splash that echoed off the floor a split second before all the monitors started sending alarms through the room was his first signal that she wasn't just sleeping. Medical staff rushed in, and Chuck was pushed out, but not before he saw the large pool of Blair's blood eating up the tile. It seemed like everyone in the Hospital was in her room, and that as the door slammed shut he was completely alone in the endless hospital hallway. He fell back against the wall as if kicked, and nothing seemed real. This couldn't be happening. It was then that he felt the restless stirring and mewing in his hands. Panting he looked down at the tiny baby he held at a distance in his palms, and for a moment, the harshest of moments, he felt a flash of near blinding hatred for his daughter, and it shook him to his core. Shaking he pulled her more securely against his chest, and with trembling lips he gently kissed the crown of her head, as he vowed that no matter what happened, he would blame her for nothing. Nothing that happened next would be her fault.

"Mr. Bass…" Chuck looked up to see a young nurse standing by his side, and she offered to take the baby to the nursery and get her checked out. Still unable to speak, Chuck nodded, kissed his daughter again, and handed her to the nurse. Alone, he sank to the floor, listening to the chaos in the other room, and waiting to hear his love's fate.

TahDAH! Okay, you know what I hate? When you get a song stuck in your head, and you CANNOT get it out. It's made even worse when you don't know all of the words. Right now? Raindrops keep falling on my head. Ba-ba-bada-bada-ba-da-da! Something-something-something-bed!" Get the picture? It's not a pretty one in my head right now.

PS-A Canadian Goose is a majestic bird… but also evil. They will snap at you and try to take you out.

PPS-According to word count this is 2540 words. That's more than 2000! See how I adore you all! Oh, and I know, I know, there are going to be at least 3 of you who tell me you saw the whole ending coming.


	22. Chapter 22

Hello, everybody! I think Gossip Girl is trying to kill me. I'm in the middle of exams and Chair is giving me STRESS! LOVE them though. Oh, and once again I didn't proof read, but if it makes you feel any better, my professors often write of my need to proof my papers, which I don't do as well. Apparently I hate reading my own stuff, but I hope you enjoy it! So, this is it, the final chapter. I've left a longer author's note at the end so here we go…

Chuck slouched deeper into the chair that was situated beside her bed. His index finger pressed against his jaw, and not a muscle in his body moved. His soul concentration was centered on her. He watched the forced rise and fall of her chest as the ventilator moved the air in and out of her lungs. He took in the paler of her skin, wash white from the damage her body had taken in giving birth to their daughter. He listened to the steady beating of the hart, that despite all that her body had been through, refused to give out. He took it all in and used all his energy to force her with his stare to wake up. To come back to him.

The three days it took for her body to reclaim itself were the longest of his life. But come back to him she did. First it was seeing if she could breathe on her own, and as they turned the ventilator off, Chuck's hand grasped hers tightly and he hissed a single command into her ear. "Breathe, Waldorf." And after a pause that stretched across the still room, a tiny breath come out of her, followed by another and another, until Chuck lost count, and began to relax. Now all she had to do is wake up.

Stubborn as she was she made him wait another day before there was even a twitch to her fingers, and he leaned in to command her again, "Blair, wakeup." And for a heartbeat her eyelids fluttered open, just long enough to scowl at him, and then drift shut. The breath Chuck had been holding for the last few days escaped in a laugh, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. Hours later her eyes opened and stayed open as they locked with his. Her first thought?

"You look awful." She croaked thinking even after all the benders she'd witnessed of his; she'd never seen him so unkempt.

"You're not so hot yourself at the moment…" But even as he said it he knew it was a lie. Seeing the life coming back into her made her was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Her eyes shut for a moment as she took a steadying breath, her tongue moistening her lips, which didn't really help because it felt like her mouth was stuffed with cotton. Her eyes shot open as she felt an ice cube glide across her lower lip. Chuck was heart stoppingly close as he pushed the ice between her lips.

"The doctor said ice chips only for a little while…"

She nodded, loving the smell of him, and the feel of his hip next to hers as he perched on the side of her bed. As her body shifted into wakefulness, her mind woke up suddenly.

"The baby?!" She gasped, her heart thumping and sending the monitors beeping.

"She's fine." Chuck soothed, his hand stroking the hair off her forehead. "You scared the hell out of me, Waldorf."

There was no bite to his words, and Blair shifted in the bed. "It wasn't so fun for me either. By the way… I'm never doing that again. Ever."

Chuck smiled. "Good to know… especially since I've got a vasectomy booked for next week."

Blair looked up at him, and for the life of her she, for once, didn't have a come back. It seemed like everything was becoming clear to her since she woke up. Life with Chuck, and without him were playing in her head. And what she wanted never seemed so obvious before.

In her half conscious state she hadn't noticed him hit the call button, and soon a doctor was there, assuring her that while she'd given everyone a scare, she'd make a full recovery. Blair didn't care. She wanted to see her daughter. She looked to Chuck, but before she could even say anything a nurse was pushing a bassinette into the room. Her breath caught as she heard the tiny mewings coming from just out of her sight range. Her arms felt like they weighted a million pounds, but she was still reaching out for her baby as Chuck went to get her for Blair from the bassinette.

"I want to see her." Blair beseeched.

Chuck had lifted the baby and was walking towards Blair; he smiled at the baby for a moment before carefully lowering her into her mother's arms for the first time. For a moment the great Chuck Bass nearly choked on his emotion as he saw Blair's face light with rapture as she took in every inch of her daughter. She loved the baby as completely as she loved Charlie, and more dedicatedly than any mother he had ever seen.

"Gwendolyn…" She whispered against the baby's soft dark crown of hair.

Chuck cleared his throat, knowing that his moment of reckoning in this regard was at hand. " About that… I went in another direction…"

Knowing that tone, Blair stiffened, and cast sharpened eyes at him. "Chuck…"

Sauntering over to her, he once again perched on the side of her bed, and stroked a finger down his daughter's cheek. "I'd like you to meet… Blair Eleanor Evelyn Bass."

Chuck's eyes met hers and she could see the smile in them, and the smallest hint of a curve to that mouth that could drive her crazy. "I knew the second I saw her that she had her mother's fire… So I felt she should have her mother's name as well…"

Blair couldn't temper the warmth that flooded her as she looked down on her little Blair, and yet felt the need to at least attempt a reproach for him changing their daughter's name while she was in a coma. "That's a breech of contract, you know?"

Chuck smiled, knowing that she approved the name. "Sue me."

Blair rolled her eyes, before looking back at her daughter. As an only child who had loved being the only commander of her parent's scattered attention, she'd had a small fear that she wouldn't love her second child as much as her first, but she'd been wrong. Her daughter completed her.

"We'll never hear the end of unleashing the next generation of Chuck and Blair on the Upper East Side…"

"Hmm… Since when did we care what anyone else thought?"

"True." Blair smiled. "Now… what shall we call her? Charles is Charlie… what should little Blair be?"

"Bee sounds about right to me…"

"Bebe." Blair smiled. (Bee Bee)

Momentarily satisfied that her daughter was alive and perfect, Blair grew tired from the exertion of the past few minutes, but she still protested when Chuck moved to take Bebe from her arms.

"Shhh…" Chuck whispered. "I'll just take her to the nursery... You need to rest."

Blair settled back against the pillow, and just before she dropped off, a nurse came in to check her vitals. The woman smiled at Blair as she then adjusted the covers over her, much like Dorota used to when Blair was little. "Glad to see you're awake. That husband of yours was a mess. He must love you very much."

That was Blair's last thought before she drifted to sleep with a smile on her face.

He was IMPOSSIBLE! Was Blair's thought a week later as she was finally being released from the hospital. Chuck had insisted she stay in care for a full week, even thought she felt better, and worse, even though Bebe had been released days ago. It was killing Blair to be away from her and Charlie, and because of that she felt like killing Chuck. Her moment of euphoria after waking up had quickly dissipated as she gained back some of her strength and remembered all the very real reasons they hadn't been together before. Chuck was an ass. She made it clear to anyone and everyone who she saw that she'd been tortured into marriage, and she'd get the thing annulled the second she got the chance. Chuck remained remarkable quiet throughout her tirades, especially since she saved her harshest comments for when she knew he was within earshot.

But today, the day she was being released, Blair was just happy to be finally getting out of the hospital. The lighting was terrible. While she'd asked Serena if she could pick her up to take her home, it was Chuck, of course, who ended up doing it. Blair sat in the back of the limo anxious to get home and see her children again. Chuck had brought them to visit her every day, but it wasn't the same as being home with them. She was so caught up with all the things she wanted to do with them, planning their first trip as a family to the duck pond… Bebe's first shopping trip to Bergdorf's… that she didn't realize at first that the limo was blocks of track from her apartment.

"Chuck…" Blair began to accuse as they pulled up at a large classic stone building on the Upper East Side that faced the park.

He quickly got out, coming around to help her out of the limo. The car sped away at Chuck's signal, and Blair was forced to lean heavily on him given that she was still rather weak from her illness and all the bed rest. This was the same reason that she was unable to storm away from him down the street, as she would have at any other time.

"Welcome home…" He said with the smile he used when he knew he'd won.

Chuck led her into the lobby, then to an elevator that carried them up to the penthouse. As the door chimed open he guided her into a spacious foyer and apartment that was similar to the one she had grown up with… only this one made hers look like a studio in Chelsea. She was still taking it all in when she heard quick little footsteps thundering towards her.

"Mommy!" Charlie shouted, launching himself at her legs, and Chuck now supporting both of them. "We live here now! With Daddy!"

"Great…" Blair hedged a moment before Dorota came in and hustled Blair up to her new room to settle her in to rest. Tucked into bed Blair spent time with Charlie and Bebe, before the children were taken to bed by the two night nannies Chuck had hired. Blair was grudgingly relieved they were both at least fifty and not daddy bate material like some of the nannies Blair had seen.

Alone in the room, Blair had figured out pretty quickly where she was. The master suite. The ass put her in the master suite… with him. By the time Chuck showed up a couple of hours later, Blair had a fine angry buzz going for her.

"You have got to be kidding me?" She demanded.

"You're my wife… This is our room…" He said as he lounged against the doorframe.

"I will admit that we are married for the near future but you can forget staying in here with me."

"Don't worry, I won't make any husbandly demands on you… at least not for another six weeks…"

Blair was brought up short, and glared at him as he smiled his fox's grin. "I googled it."

"Sure, that you look up, but the time the harness locked you told me we could figure it out on our own." Blair derided.

Chuck smiled at the memory, lifting himself out of the doorway, shutting the door, and sauntering over to her. "Well, much like now, I had you right where I wanted you… why would I aid you in getting out."

"Because back then the leather chaffed, and right now you make me sick."

Blair's nose crinkled as he got into bed beside her, both of them now sitting, legs stretched out, and backs against the headboard. They sat there silently. For the moment neither one of them wanting to open up the bee's hive they needed to address.

"I'm sorry." Chuck began.

She could feel his head roll to the side to look at her but she kept her gaze on her folded hands in her lap. "You hurt me…"

"I hurt myself too." Chuck said, trying to think of the right words to fix this. Nearly losing her forever had shaken him. He didn't want any more distance. He wanted them. Chuck and Blair. He wanted Charlie and Bebe. He wanted it all, and he was desperate to make her see that. "I know I wasn't there for you with Charlie, I tried to support you in my way… I always knew how you were, what you were doing… And maybe that's not enough, but… I was barely holding on that whole time… thinking I was going to lose you… and never be able to get you back."

Hearing the break in his voice she finally looked over at him, and they both turned onto their sides to that they were facing each other. His hands crept up to frame her face, and he moved in to press his forehead to hers.

"I can make us right again, if you'll give me the chance. If you'll forgive me? I need you. I need us… I love you, Blair."

Her eyes glistened with tears as she looked deeply into the eyes that haunted her. She knew him, and every motivation behind his manipulations and strikes. Blair had known she had been taking a risk in omitting that she had gone off the pill to get pregnant, and a part of her had known he might run. When you play with calculated risks, you had to be prepared to take the fall. Right now, this was a risk with Chuck. No other person had the power to hurt her like he did, but she had never loved anyone with nearly the intensity of love that she felt for Chuck. They were magnetic, and she wanted them to be. The other week, after nearly dying, Blair knew she had to prioritize her life, and ask herself what she really wanted. She wanted Chuck. She'd always wanted Chuck… but now she had to take a leap, and trust that he wouldn't hurt her again. She really didn't have any choice at all.

"I want to try again." Blair said honestly. "I love you too." She whispered before capturing his mouth for a passionate kiss, and in that kiss, after all the months and years apart, Chuck and Blair were finally home.

**Epilogue.**

"Where is he?!" Blair demanded stomping her foot. "I'm about to get married and he hasn't even shown up!"

"Easy, Mom." Charlie Bass commented as he meandered into the sitting room of the Hampton's home. "Flustered won't look good in the wedding pictures…"

"Finally!" Blair said turning her attention to her eighteen-year-old son, who was as usual, late. Forgiving him as she always did, she smoothed his tie and collar. "You would think you'd have been on time… It is your mother's wedding after all?"

Charlie rolled his eyes in much the same way his mother did. "Again." He grinned. "This is what? The fourth or fifth time I've walked you down the aisle? Then there were your two weddings before that? Excess does suit you Mother…"

"Shush." Blair shrugged subtly. "You know how much I love a wedding… Now, is your sister finally there or are we going to have to start searching the bushes?"

"One time… You know how she gets when she has a new boy in her sights …"

"Hmm…" Blair commented, thinking about how much like her father Bebe was… and her aunt Serena. Charlie however seemed to take after her… or at least Blair could name a handful of girlfriends he'd had, while she'd lost track of Bebe's boyfriends a while ago.

The music cued and Charlie smiled offering his mother his arm. Blair smiled back as he led her out in to the wide lawn. It was just past dusk and there was shimmering candlelight from a million candles set over the grounds. At the end of the lawn, at the base of a copse of trees, white linen and tulle was draped to make a sloping tent. Blair rolled her eyes as she saw Bebe scamper over from the caterer's tent, and stand in her place. Bebe winked at her mother with a wicked grin.

Then Blair's gaze shifted and locked to her groom. Like a magnet she moved towards him, until they were standing face to face. Charlie kissed her cheek before moving aside, but Blair had eyes for only one person now.

"Mrs. Bass…" Chuck smiled as he held out his hand.

Blair smiled, taking his hand and never tiring of this. After their second marriage, Blair and Chuck had worked hard at rebuilding their relationship, and it had been the road they'd expected. It led them back to each other. They still fought like crazy sometimes, and there had been several points where one or both had contemplated murder/suicide, but the good times out weighed the bad, and even the bad got their blood going.

They were a striking family. United together against everything else. Charlie and Bebe had already ripped across the Upper East Side high school social scene, and both had similar plans for university. After university? All of Manhattan.

Over the years Serena had wracked up an impressive amount of weddings, and one day, after hearing Blair bemoan that she had only had two weddings, to the same man, and the second one she'd looked like a mental patient after shock therapy. Within the day Chuck had proposed. This set the tone for many years of proposals and weddings. Blair nearly had a different engagement ring for every day of the week. Large weddings, small weddings, Parisian weddings, and island weddings… the only thing that didn't change were the bride and groom. Once again standing before a justice of the peace, Chuck looked at Blair, knowing he'd marry her a million times. Blair looked at Chuck, knowing that this was the only man she'd marry a million times.

Later as they say curled in a lounger watching the fireworks, Blair twirled her fingers around the hair at the base of his neck. The majority of the party had moved down to the beach, leaving the repeated newlyweds alone in a corner of the lawn. Like a cat with cream, Blair smiled at him. "I have to say, this worked out just as I expected…"

Chuck leaned back, smiling with a raised brow? "Did it now…"

"I knew you loved me when we were eighteen years old. You just had to learn how to behave yourself… And I knew I could domesticate the great Chuck Bass. Points for me!" She teased, bating her husband.

Grasping her hips he pulled her more tightly against him, and growled against her neck. "I wouldn't say I'm fully broken in…"

Blair gasped as Chuck's lips latched onto her neck.

Pulling back she moved to whisper against his ear. "Three words. Eight letters… Say them and I'm yours."

He chuckled at her words and the seduction behind them. "Easy... I love you… But did you really think this whole outcome was _your_ plan?"

Blair pulled back to see the calculating twinkle in his eyes, and the smile that he got when his plan came together.

"Checkmate."

**The End.**

TahDah! A few things…

First I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has read this fic, to the people who have taken the time to review, to the people I've chatted with, and for all the support of this story. THANK YOU! This was my first multi-chaptered CB story, and I was so happy that it was so well received!

Second, I was never going to name her Gwendolyn, I just wanted a little twist. There was always going to be a little Chuck and a little Blair.

Third… For everyone who has read my stuff before, this will be familiar, to everyone else… I have a little request. So, as a general rule with my chaptered fics, I never ask for reviews. I feel like if you have something to say, I'd love to hear it, but it's your choice. The only time I break this rule is with my last chapter. Sooooo… I'd love to hear what you thought of the last chapter but also what you thought of the story as a whole. That would be awesome! Thanks!

Fourth, I have a new CB fic rolling around in my head, and it may come out soon.

Thanks to everyone!


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